Ignite Me From Within
by NeedMyFix
Summary: She's headstrong and fiercely independent. She won't let something like love weaken her defenses. He's a little jittery but he knows what he wants. He won't shy away from love. Will he be able to break down her walls and ignite a passion behind those guarded brown eyes?
1. Prelude

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight. I'm just bending the characters to my will and they better do what I say. Applies to every dratted chapter.**

**P.S. I swear a lot. Just saying.**

**.**

**Prelude - Pissy Old Ladies and Prehistoric Perverts**

"You prehistoric perverted _ass_! I'll fuck up your ancient junk, you septic nutbucket!" Miss Rose cursed.

Standing in her garden, she was leaning over the waist-height hedge, waving her gardening shears dangerously close to Emmett McCarty. The look on her face told she was a woman on a mission. And that mission was, perhaps, to take Emmett's eye out using her shears. Or maybe his balls. You never know with Miss Rose. She was old but she had a fiery spirit. Emmett, standing on the other side of the hedge just out of the range of her shears, was laughing his infamous belly laugh while his blue eyes shone mischievously.

Bella couldn't help but grin and shake her head at the colorful string of curses that left the slightly-wrinkled mouth of her beloved neighbor.

"What did he do this time, Miss Rose? Do you want me to kick his ass?" Bella inquired with barely-contained amusement as she walked closer to where the scene was playing out.

As soon as she got close enough, Emmett hid behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, using her as a human shield against Miss Rose's fervent onslaught.

"B, you're siding with her again? I'm telling you this crazy old bat is after me. She wants to put her claws in this fine specimen of masculinity!" he defended in a mock-innocent tone, his voice betraying his amusement. His shoulders started shaking in silent laughter.

"Who're you calling crazy-old-bat, you shriveled-up ball bag! You're nothing but a man-booby saggy-assed obsolete prick!" was Miss Rose's incensed response.

Bella was laughing so hard by the end of this rant that Emmett had to put a hand on her waist so she didn't topple over. Miss Rose was so mad it was only a matter of time that steam came out of her ears.

"Hey, I don't have man-boobs!" he pushed out his chest – which was pretty well-built for a 60-year-old – and pouted at the still-laughing Bella, "Do I, B?"

"You have man-boobs and you have a good-for-nothing, tiny, withered dick!" Miss Rose beat Bella to it.

His smile dropped and his gaze, trained on Miss Rose, became intense.

"Oh honey, you and I both know there's nothing tiny about my dick!" he said in a low, sultry tone.

Bella groaned and Miss Rose's ears turned pink, before she abruptly turned and scurried off to the confines of her home.

"Seriously Mac, I don't need to hear this shit first thing in the morning," Bella whined, still disgusted by the weird foreplay she had just witnessed between her father-figure and their neighbor.

Emmett McCarty or Mac, as Bella calls him, snickered unabashedly and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Aw come on, B. What's an old guy to do in this boring-ass neighborhood? Plus, she wants me!" he finished proudly, waggling his eyebrows obnoxiously.

"Mac!" Bella complained.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop. Jeez, what's up your skinny butt this fine morning?" Mac teasingly nudged her shoulder.

Bella smiled reluctantly but when she felt his hands slide to the ticklish spot on her side, she started laughing and squirming, trying to get away from him. Mac was having none of that. He used one hand to pin her and the other to make her laugh.

It was a beautiful voice – Bella's laugh. If it was up to Mac, the girl would never stop laughing. She'd had enough heartache to last a lifetime.

"Uncle, uncle!" Bella wheezed, rendered breathless after all the laughter.

"Who's your uncle, little lady?" Mac stopped his tickle-attack and put his hand around her shoulder again. He thought of her as a daughter. In fact, he often joked with his son, Christian, that she was the son he never had. But jokes aside, she was the best thing that ever happened to Mac.

Bella simply burrowed her head in his shoulder and gave him an affectionate squeeze. Mac was her hero. Her mentor. And for all intents and purposes – her father.

"So. What did you do?" Bella inquired once she'd managed to catch her breath.

"What made you think I did something, Squirt?" he huffed lightheartedly.

Bella looked at him blankly and raised her eyebrow.

"Okay" he conceded and then casually said, "I just asked her if her boobs are as firm as they looked."

Bella nodded. She'd stopped being surprised at anything Mac did. She knew better.

"And?" she asked knowingly.

"I may have copped a feel," his voice playfully sheepish but his eyes conveyed that he wasn't sorry at all.

Bella snorted, unsurprised by Mac's antics.

"Miss Rose is right. You _are_ a prehistoric pervert!" Bella said decisively.

"I'm not prehistoric. I swear that Rex guy came before me!" he protested lightheartedly.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Were your jokes funny in that era?" she joked.

"I'll have you know, Mrs. McCarty loved all my jokes." Mac pretended to be mad.

"I thought love was blind. Not deaf." She retorted with false solemnity.

"Smartass!" Mac laughed boisterously and proceeded to grasp her in a headlock. They laughed and wrestled their way into the beige-colored building that had always brought her the comfort of home – way more than the cold, immaculately-decorated rooms of her parents' mansion.

**AN: Waddya think? Sucks? Not what you expected? Hate it? Should I even continue? Let me know, so I can effectively cockblock my first writing attempt in forever. I'm writing by the seat of my pants. I can take hate mail, so if you hate this then lay into me! I can take tough love. I realize this is a short chapter and has practically nothing of consequence in it. I just wanted to gauge the reactions. By the way, I don't care what you say; I'm totally digging Mac and Rose!**

**This is just a prelude. The next chapter is the real deal. **


	2. Nervous Musicians and Conniving Jerks

**Chapter 1 – Nervous Musicians and Conniving Jerks**

He was as nervous as a virgin on prom night. Or maybe like the geek planning to ask the head cheerleader to go on a date with him. Or maybe -

There was a knock on the door and he shook his head ridding his mind of the pointless rambling.

"Ed, they're going to start in five." Jasper said as he entered the makeup room. "You ready?"

Not only was Jasper his manager, he was also the best, most loyal friend he'd ever had. Not to mention a gigantic pain in the arse.

"Remind me again why I agreed to do this?" he asked, his voice betraying his nerves.

"Deep breaths, man. In through the nose, out through the mouth. " Jasper instructed, ignoring what he hoped was a rhetorical question.

Edward stood up, took in a deep breath and burrowed both hands into his hair. He was glad he hadn't cut his hair when his mother asked him to. He had a habit of running his hands through his hair and tugging at it when he was frustrated or nervous. He let out the breath with a whoosh and started to pace.

"There you go. It's going to be alright man. You've done this before. It's easy. Smile. Make some jokes. Be yourself. People love you. You've got nothing to worry about." Jasper continued to soothe his nerves. He was usually a pro at this, but his usual schemes weren't helping tonight. He was trying to stop Edward's pacing before his scuffed sneakers damaged the pretentious carpet of the studio's dressing room.

Edward, who was barely listening, just took in a few more deep breaths, trying to get his heart to slow down.

"Ugh. Can't I just _not_ do this." He said, frustrated that his heart won't stop galloping like a fucking horse in a death race. Did horses even _have_ death races?

_What the fuck am I thinking?_

"You're lucky you get paid for doing what you love. Not everyone can say that. You hate the publicity part but it pays your bills, so quit bitching and deal with it." Jasper drawled.

Edward huffed but before he could say anything, the frenzied stage director peeked into the room and held up five fingers and mouthed a five to let him know that he didn't have long to put a lid on his jitters.

Jasper patted his shoulder and said, "Go get 'em!"

The intro music of the show started playing. Edward tried not to throw up. The talk show host started with a monologue. If Edward didn't know he was gay, he would have guessed when he started talking. He used his hands _a_ _lot._

"I bet you're going to _love_ who we have with us tonight. He's a talented musician, who just recently started his career with his record-braking album 'Threadbare'." The host said enthusiastically.

The cheers of the crowd were thunderous.

_How many are they?_ Edward wondered, but didn't give himself time to dwell on it. He didn't need fuel for his freak out.

"He's a phenomenal singer and ladies," the host lowered his voice as if sharing a secret, "I hope you've got your smelling salts on you. The man is quite a looker."

He finished with a wink and Edward heard Jasper snicker. Edward only had time to shoot a glare his way before his name was announced.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's Ed Cullen!"

The crowd started yelling hysterically.

_Fuck_, Edward thought._ Here goes nothing_.

When he walked out, the bright colors of the set almost made him cringe but he kept the smile plastered to his face. He ran one of his hands in his already too rumpled reddish-brown hair as the decibel levels of the audience went through the roof. The host came forward and hugged him. Edward awkwardly patted his back. He swore he heard Jasper snort at his predicament.

_Fucker_.

"Hello, Sir." The host greeted Edward, "Please, sit yourself down."

Edward sat down, one of his hands buried deep into his leather jacket, twisting the hell out of the pocket. His panic was now confined to the insides of his pocket. Backstage, Jasper sent up a quick prayer and crossed his fingers.

The audience was screaming.

"Is it like this everywhere you go?" the host gestured toward the crowd, once they'd toned down their volume.

"Not at all. I've discovered that the loo can be quite peaceful." Edward replied with a straight face.

Everyone laughed. Edward wondered if it was because they found it funny or because of some sign that cued them to laugh. Whatever it was, he was grateful the response wasn't awkward silence.

"So Ed, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're English, right? How did you end up here?" the host asked.

"I am. I grew up in Yorkshire. When I was fifteen, my dad got a job offer to teach at a university here, so we moved to LA. We've been here ever since." Edward replied.

So far so good, he let out a relieved breath. The hand in the pocket let up a little.

"Did you like it here?"

"Not at first, no." Edward smiled. "I was an angsty teenager. I thought the universe hated me."

The crowd laughed. Edward let out a breath he'd been holding.

"When did you know you wanted to be a musician?"

"My mother loves music, so we had background music all the time. Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven, Ahmad Jamal. I could recognize tracks within seconds, before I was ten. I told her I wanted to learn how to play. I got started with the piano. Then when I was ten, I got a guitar. I don't remember making a conscious decision to become a musician. I just fell into it. My parents always encouraged me to do what I love and supported me when I was living on other people's couches."

The audience whooped and clapped.

"We can't all say that about our parents now, can we? When I told my mother I wanted to become a talk show host, she said '_Yeah, and I want to be twenty years younger_'." The host said in a high-pitched voice.

The audience laughed again. Edward smiled politely.

"Who were your favorite musicians growing up?"

"I really loved listening to Van Morrison, Bob Dylan. The Beatles, of course. John Lennon was my hero. I was a bathroom singer and I used to sing his songs using my shampoo bottle as a mic!"

More laughter.

_Phew_, Edward thought, relieved. At least his heart wasn't planning to gallop its way out of his chest, anymore.

The show went on. He was asked about the title of the album.

"I actually wanted to name it 'Hackneyed' or something equally bizzare. But the title track, _Threadbare,_ is very near to me. I wrote a large part of that song when I was fifteen."

The crowd clapped.

"Oh, I've heard you're very nice to your fans. I loved how you took a fan to prom. Tell us about that." the host clasped his hands together and held them near his heart, giving Edward a hopeful look.

"I didn't actually take her to prom. Um, my mother volunteers at a hospital sometimes. She told me about a fan who couldn't go to her prom because she was going through chemo. I kind of brought prom to her. I didn't actually wear a tuxedo. I just bought her a corsage. I may have snuck in a little bit of spiked punch, too." He finished as he ran a hand through his hair.

The audience aww'd and laughed appropriately.

"So Ed," the host sat a little straighter in his seat assuming an I-mean-business posture and ran a hand over his coiffed hair. "Are you single?"

The crowd howled.

For a second Edward sympathized with the animals in the zoo. He felt like one at that moment, under scrutiny – exposed. Oh, how he wished these talk show hosts and interviewers kept the questions related to his music and not about his personal life.

He merely smiled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Edward tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

The audience went ballistic.

"Oh, but we do!" the host didn't get a hint and replied excitedly. The crowd backed him up.

"Well, let's just say that I'm unavailable and leave it at that." he replied finally, ill at ease.

"You're quite shy when it comes to your personal life." The host stated.

_No shit_, Edward thought wryly.

"Yeah, I'm not comfortable talking about my personal life." He replied simply.

"Fair enough." And he thankfully went on to less probing topics.

**.**

A little more than ten miles away, Bella Swan stood in front of her closet in her trademark skinny jeans and a black bra. Don't get this wrong, she wasn't one of those girls worrying over what to wear every day. She usually just wore the first clean shirt and pants that she found, but today was Sunday and there was a tradition. Every Sunday, Bella, Mac and Chris wore these funny t-shirts that they bought off the internet. Sometimes they had rude little comments on them. They just had to make the others laugh. This was the only thing Bella allowed herself to splurge on, week after week.

She finally settled on a black "SARCASM - Because beating the crap out of people is illegal" t-shirt, ran her fingers through her nearly dry hair and bounded downstairs. Mac and Chris were sitting together on the black leather couch in the lounge, huddled around Chris' laptop, whispering and scheming like the conniving jerks that they were. She was instantly on alert.

She cleared her throat and they both startled and tried to wipe their face clear of mischief.

_Easier said than done_, Bella thought.

"What're you guys up to? And Chris, how are you even awake. I thought you worked late last night. It's only afternoon."

"I just got in, Bells." Chris replied. He did look quite weary but his blue eyes, exactly like his father's, had the up-to-no-good glint.

She narrowed her eyes.

Mac stood up and walked to Bella. When she trained her suspicious glare on Ma,c he merely pointed to his shirt.

She read. She blinked. She started laughing. His shirt said:

"I got a dig bick"

Then under that, it said:

"You that read wrong"

And under that:

"You read that wrong too!"

"I'm clearly the winner this Sunday." Mac proclaimed proudly, after they'd all had a good laugh over the shirt.

"You totally do. You've got the bragging rights. As if you ever need rights to brag." Bella snorted.

Mac laughed and Bella ducked just in time to save herself from the punch coming her way. Mac hit hard, even when he was joking. She'd learned this the hard way. Her ribs could definitely testify to that.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chris give Mac a thumbs up. She was on guard again.

"Back to my original question. What are you guys doing? You've got my hackles raised." Bella asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"There's no need for the hackles to rise, Bells. There's nothing going on. Would you chillax?" Chris answered in an overly-exaggerated innocent tone.

"Were you going somewhere?" Mac asked when he saw the jacket in Bella's hands.

Something was up. Bella was sure of it, though she had no idea what it was. She'd let it go for now, but she'd keep an eye out for these troublemakers.

"Yeah. Jake wanted me to look at the dirt bikes he got from his friend, Embry. I'm thinking about rebuilding one." Bella told them.

"Ok. Drive safe, honey." Mac said in an uncanny impression of her mother.

Bella snickered, "Yes, _mom_!_"_

She kissed Mac on his cheek, plucked her keys off the holder and went out. She allowed herself a moment to appreciate the California sunshine. She simply loved the sun and shuddered to think what would happen if she lived in, say, Seattle, where there was next to no sunshine.

She quickly slipped her jacket over her shoulders, wound her hair up haphazardly and put a beanie on her head before placing the helmet. She loved riding her bike. She'd started saving up for it when she was thirteen and by the time she was eighteen, she'd bought her and completely remodeled her with the help of Mac and Chris. She never named her like Mac insisted she should, because that was fucking juvenile in her opinion. Especially when he kept suggesting names like _Betty_ or _Macy_ or even _Bertha._

Her love for all things mechanical came from Mac and he'd been so proud of her when she'd told him she was going to Caltech for Mechanical Engineering. She swore he even had a few tears in his eyes, though he vehemently denied it. And then he'd proceeded to tickle the shit out of her.

She shook her head, Mac and his diversionary tactics.

Her mind once again went to the dubious scene in the lounge. She was sure the father and son were plotting against her. It was an endless cycle. They pranked each other every once in a while and Bella could feel the telltale signs of a prank looming ahead.

She walked to her baby – her Ducati Darmah SD900. It was black and the fact that she had remodeled it with her own two hands just made her more special. She was the only thing that Bella thought she could never live without.

With practiced ease, she slung her right leg over the bike and once the leg was on firm ground, she lifted the other one to kick the stand up. She turned the key and thumbed the starter button and the re-engineered engine sprung to life with a low rumble. She loved it. She revved it once and was on her way to Jake's. She just hoped he behaved this time – she didn't want to kick his ass again.

**.**

**AN: Hey Guys, thanks for reading! How do you like this Edward? Why is he unavailable? What do you think Mac and Chris are up to? And why did Bella have to kick Jake's ass in the first place? Can you guess which real talk show host I was trying to get my fic-host to emulate?**

**Next chapter, Edward and Bella meet.**

**By the way, I really hope you're reading Dodge and Burn by abstract way. It's intense and raw and just pure gold (in black and white)! Plus, it has Musicianward and we all know how much I love those -wards! Here's the link (or part of it, at least):**

**net/s/8222551/1/Dodge-and-Burn**


	3. First Meetings and Threesomes

**PoeticBrunette beta'd this chapter. Mireads approves.**

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**Chapter 2 – First Meetings and Threesomes**

"Oomphh!"

There was a grunt and a thud, as Jacob fell on his ass. _Again_. He groaned as he gently massaged his sore ribs.

"Come on, Jake. Don't be a pussy." Bella goaded, as she bounced from one foot to the other. She was sweating like a pig. Most of her hair was out of the haphazard bun she'd put it up in, before boxing with Jake.

"Come on, come on, come on." She whined as she bumped her black boxing gloves together.

Jake's only response was to lie down with a grimace.

"Fuck Bells! I think you got my ribs." He complained.

Bella snorted and rolled her eyes.

"No, I didn't. You're just a drama queen. Get up already." Bella said, her patience running thin.

"I'm done." Jake shook his head.

"Where's the stamina that you keep bragging about? I bet Mac could give you a run for your money and he's three times your age." she prodded and as expected, she saw indignation on his face.

"What?! This has nothing to do with stamina. I would have no problems demonstrating it in bed-"

"With three other people of various genders looking on or actively participating, as they wished." Bella cut him off.

Jake only smirked like the lascivious fucker that he was.

This wasn't the first time Jake had propositioned her. Who could blame him? Bella Swan was an exotic creature. In a world full of fake tans and bleach blondes, she was a breath of fresh air, with her brown hair and chewed-off fingernails. She was tall and years of working out had toned her limbs beautifully. And don't even get him started on her tits.

Apart from her aesthetically pleasing form, Jake was wildly attracted to her fluency in car-speak. The first time they'd met, on the university campus, he'd asked her, point-blank, to have a threesome with him and his girlfriend, Leah. Bella had shot him down, trying to be gentle about it, but the fucker wouldn't get a clue. Although, their mutual love for all things motor had turned them into good friends, Jake had never completely let it go. He brought this up every chance he got.

"Behave Jake, or I swear I'd kick your creepy ass again." Bella threatened.

Jake and Leah had a weird relationship – yeah, they were still together and going strong, according to Jake. They were both bisexuals. And they loved having threesomes. And quadruple-somes. Just multiple-somes. While Bella didn't judge them or understand them, she didn't want to try that either. Besides, Leah kind of creeped her out. The girl never stopped staring at her tits. It was rather disconcerting. She'd rather Jake hit on her, than Leah.

"Bella!"

They both turned around to see Seth, Jake's younger brother rushing toward them. Bella swore she had never seen two non-twin siblings that looked like they had the exact same genetic makeup; they were only at different times in their lives. They had the same russet-colored skin. The same beady black eyes. The same shiny black hair, cropped short. And they both obviously liked Bella. Though, Jake often ribbed her that the ten-year-old was in love with her.

Bella smiled, "Hey Seth. How's it goin'?"

Seth flushed and grinned so wide, his face almost split in two. Bella had to press her lips together to hold in the laughter bubbling out. Jake obviously made no such attempt and laughed out loud.

"Your fly is open, buttcake!" Jake howled.

Bella didn't think it was possible but Seth's cheeks got even redder.

"No it isn't!" He said confidently but looked to check, just in case.

Jake was bent over, clutching his sides, as he made fun of his little brother.

"Ignore him, Seth; I do. You look great. Is that a Beatles shirt?" Bella reassured Seth, giving Jake the stink eye which went by unnoticed by the howling beast. She rolled her eyes. Sibling rivalry.

As Seth was yammering about his shirt and whatnot, Bella heard her cell phone go off. She took off one of her gloves and let it drop to the floor. She held up a finger at Seth to put a stop to his incessant chatter, as she put the phone to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"When're you getting here?" Mac asked without any preamble.

"At four. As always. Everything alright?" _Why the fuck are you asking?_ Bella added in her mind, suspicious.

"Everything's fine, B. Just checking." He replied. His tone was innocent enough, but since Bella knew him too well, she didn't miss the hint of excitement in his voice.

_Yep, something's definitely going on_, Bella thought.

"OK. See you then." She said and hung up.

Across town, Mac grinned evilly and proceeded to make a confirmation phone call.

.

Bella simply _loved_ riding her bike. It was the kind of rush, she figured junkies got from drugs. She felt unreachable. Invincible. Right now, she felt the adrenaline pump through her body as her Ducati purred underneath her. She'd kept her in tune, oils changed, filters cleaned, paint job slick as ever. She was proud of it.

She remembered the time when Mac had covered her bike with what looked like a trillion post-its. They shared a good laugh on it later on, but at the time, she'd thrown an epic shit storm and laid into him. God, he loved to rile her up. Of course, then she'd retaliated with having his convertible reupholstered in hot pink. Yeah, he'd _loved_ that. Sense the sarcasm.

But despite all the fun they've had with each other, Bella has always looked up to him. She respects him and trusts him implicitly. She knows he'd be there for her, no matter what. He's proven that time and time again. He was her confidante. He'd taken her under his wing when she'd been lost and vulnerable. He had given her a sense of direction. A purpose in life. As she reached the automobile workshop they co-owned, Bella was once again filled with gratitude for him. She wondered, not for the first time, where she'd have been if she hadn't met Mac and Chris on her father's set that day, almost twelve years ago.

Shaking off her thoughts, she got off her bike and made her way into the workshop.

"Hi Bella!" several workers greeted her.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" she replied.

"Hey Worker B." Mac greeted her as he came out of his office with a folded newspaper in one hand and a cheeky smile on his face. Bella rolled her eyes at that nickname. Mac thought it was a clever pun. She thought it made her sound like an annoyingly noisy worker. With a buzz.

At once, the mechanics got back to their work. It amused Bella that they were so utterly terrified of Mac. Although, admittedly, he could be a hardass. And he could be considered scary looking, seeing as he had impressively huge biceps.

"Hey Mac. What's with the Cheshire cat grin?" Bella asked.

"The what grin?" he said as his aforementioned Cheshire cat grin got broader and, in Bella's opinion, more wicked. "You know you should lay off the fancy school lingo around here, B. I don't know how to read anything other than car manuals."

Bella snorted, her patience wearing thin "Just stop beating around the fucking bush and tell me already. What the fuck is going on?"

"You didn't tell me you were into threesomes." Mac said, barely containing his laughter.

Bella didn't have to say "what the fuck" out loud, because her look conveyed it pretty well.

Mac merely smiled and opened the newspaper and she realized it was a tabloid a little too late to look away in time. There, splattered on seemingly the first page was a picture of her that made her cringe. Bella groaned.

"We knew she was wild, but threesomes, really?" Mac read out the heading, having too much fun at her expense.

"Oh, for fuck sake!" Bella complained and closed her eyes tightly.

Being the daughter of Charles Swan, the most well-known and sought-after director-slash-producer in Hollywood, Bella was not new to the world of PR and the paparazzi circus. What irritated her to no fucking end was the fact that even though she'd clearly chosen not to take the same path as her father –down the freaking Hollywood drain– she was still being hounded. Though not as frequently as before, her life was still interesting enough for them to splash her face on the tabloids every once in a while.

_Damn it, Jake_, she thought.

Bella could pin down the exact moment this picture was taken last Saturday night. It was right before she gave Jake a taste of her mean right hook and took off. This picture in question, showed a clearly drunk Jake with one of his hands on her ass and the other groping Leah's tit.

"Fuck my life." Bella said, resigned. She took the tabloid from Mac and shredded it to bits but of course, that did nothing for the anger boiling inside of her. She let out a feral growl and all but ripped her jacket off her shoulders.

"I'm going out for a run" she told Mac in her don't-fuck-with-me-right-now tone.

Mac was flabbergasted. Usually, they shared a good laugh over these shitty things and made their own funny tabloid headlines for shits and giggles. Like the time they'd snapped a picture of him and Bella and said something about him being her sugar daddy. They'd made fun of that one for weeks. Not today, apparently.

"Hey B-" he started but shut up once he saw her face.

"Not right now, Mac" she said through gritted teeth.

_Let me go please_, she told him with his eyes, _I'm going to lose it, otherwise_.

Mac's eyes were remorseful. Of course, he hadn't meant to upset her. She couldn't stand to see the guilt in his eyes. Her eyes softened and her jaw unclenched a little.

"I'm fine, Mac. Not your fault. I'll be back in a bit." And with that, she turned and started pumping her legs as fast as they could go.

Mac knew the way she worked. She had to let out her anger to become her normal self.

_God, I hate this._

As her shoes slapped against the asphalt, she mulled over the reason she got so angry. This isn't the first and sure as hell wouldn't be the last time she was a part of some ridiculous story, whipped up by those bastards. And she was never one to take that shit seriously. She knew who she was. She could care less what anyone else thought. People always say that, but they never really mean it. But Bella Swan genuinely didn't care enough to have a more "positive public persona", as her mother often insisted she should.

_What the fuck ever_, she thought.

What she truly hated was that she didn't ask for this fucking limelight. It's not like she was a famous personality. She wasn't a Hollywood big shot. She wasn't an actress, or a model. She couldn't even sing without earning protests from the neighbors, so being a singer was out of question. She was a nobody. At least, she should have been. But her life was somehow gossip fodder, just because her sperm donor happened to be a Hollywood bigwig.

"Fuck you, _Charlie_" she muttered. The fucker hated being called Charlie. It was so beneath him. Less _debonair_, or some shit.

She _hated_ her father. Absolutely loathed being associated to that status-loving, Oscar-winning, pretentious prick. It wasn't always this way, though. There used to be a time when she'd loved him. She'd wanted to be like him when she grew up.

She snorted, shaking her head at the naivety of her younger self.

The last time she'd talked – or rather, yelled at – her father was well over six years ago, now. Her mother, on the other hand, talked to her every other week. Bella couldn't tell you what Renee said if she tried, though. Probably something about how she should "carry" herself.

_Like I care_, she rolled her eyes.

Apart from her own, there was only a handful of people whose opinion really mattered to her. Everyone else could suck it.

She just wanted to be left alone. She didn't want to be associated with Charles Fucking Swan. But, unfortunately, she was. If the public could believe that the sun rose out of his ass, then Bella really didn't want them to think she was as good as he is. She wasn't fond of ass-kissery the way her parents were. She was content being the "Wild Swan".

With that thought, she let the steady rhythm of her footfalls fill her head and chase away the noise inside.

.

"Are you sure you want to do this, man?" Jasper asked Edward.

"Yeah, I mean why not?" Edward replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"You could do better, Edward." Jasper tried to plead with his charge. He felt more like a fucking babysitter to a petulant child than a manager for a successful musician.

"What's better than getting yourself a motorcycle? And it's cheap, too."

Jasper sighed. Edward could be such a stubborn fucker.

"Yeah, too cheap. The offer is too good to be true. I mean it's _Craigslist_. Are you sure it's not just the body they're selling? It probably has a bum engine." Jasper thought out loud.

Edward chose to ignore his friend's cynicism. Something told him this was the right decision. It was a gut thing. Besides, he wanted to stop depending on Jasper anytime he needed to get somewhere. He'd always wanted a bike anyways. And when he saw a great deal on Craigslist, he figured there was no harm in trying.

He'd made a phone call and now they were on their way to see the beauty. He was getting excited.

"This is it." Jasper said as they got to the address Edward had written down.

They got out of the car and went into "MB Auto Workshop".

It looked to be quite a prosperous establishment. There were about five workers that Edward could count, hustling and bustling, working on automobiles and parts of automobiles. He was impressed as he saw one mechanic disappear under the hood of a shiny black Lamborghini V12. Edward would've whistled, if he knew how.

"Hello, I'm Emmett McCarty. I gather you're Edward Cullen."

Edward looked to his left where the voice came from. There stood a burly man with crinkly blue eyes and a genuine smile.

"Oh yeah, hi. Nice place." he gestured lamely as he shook hands with him.

Emmett laughed. "Yeah, it's kind of a dream come true for me and my partner."

Edward appraised the guy discreetly. He looked quite masculine. But hey, after living in Hollywood for over ten years, he really shouldn't be surprised anymore.

Jasper jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow and Edward was jarred from his thoughts.

"Oh, this here is my friend, Jasper." he introduced him.

"Hello Jasper. Did your mother hate you or something?" Emmett asked with a straight face.

"Well Sir, I would hope not." Jasper replied, a little floored at the man's rudeness.

"You have an unfortunate name, man." Emmett laughed at his own joke.

Edward snorted. Jasper blushed a little.

"Dad, didn't I teach you anything?" a younger version of Emmett came up from behind him and lightly punched him on his shoulder. "Tact, dad."

Then he turned to them and introduced himself.

"I'm Chris." he pointed to himself and then pointing at Emmett, he said, "and _unfortunately_, I'm the progeny of exhibit A."

They all laughed now.

"So, um, the Ducati?" Edward started, not knowing how to bring it up.

"Oh yeah, follow me." Chris said and started walking away.

Edward saw Emmett's grin widen. It was kind of an anticipatory grin. Maybe closing a deal made him happy?

They followed Chris and Emmett joined them.

"Tadaaa!" Emmett sang from behind them as the Ducati came into view.

_God, it's beautiful_, Edward thought.

He moved toward it and stroked it reverently. He could hear Jasper asking Chris questions. Then he heard an impish laugh from Emmett and suddenly his hand was picked from the bike and he was pushed backward.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

This was neither Emmett nor Chris. This wasn't even a guy. It was a girl. A very beautiful girl, at that. Her face was a little flushed with what he assumed was anger. She had beautiful coloring. Sunkissed, glowing skin. Light brown hair. Brown, honey-colored eyes. Or maybe the color of tea. Or chocolate. Soft pink, pouty lips. He felt his lips curl up slightly. She was resplendent.

"Are you deaf?"

"Pardon?" her words hardly registered in his brain, which, all of a sudden, felt kinda mushy.

"I said, what the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" she repeated, incensed.

Livid brown met soft green.

"I -um- Checking out merchandise?" he made it sound like a question.

Why is she so mad?

"Say WHAT?" she shouted causing Edward to step away.

He touched his ear lightly. Over her shoulder, he could see Emmett and Chris hunched over, laughing their asses off. She turned to see what had caught his attention and saw them, too. Her expression was hilarious, as if a light bulb just switched on. Edward pressed his lips together. Somehow he didn't think she would appreciate him laughing at her.

She dug her hand into her pocket and retrieved something that jangled. _Keys_, he realized.

Then with uncanny precision she threw them, hitting Chris smack between his eyes.

She pointed her finger at them and said in a cutting voice, "You fuckwits are on my list."

Jasper walked up to Edward and they exchanged confused looks. Chris and Emmett seemed to be sobering up now.

"Motherfuckers," she muttered before leveling her glare at Edward.

"Listen, if you want to leave with your balls intact, you're going to leave within the next five minutes." she said coldly.

Edward's eyes went wide. Emmett snorted and Chris was biting his fist to muffle his laughter.

Jasper, who apparently had no regard for his balls, started to talk, "Erm, Ma'am, we thought the ad-"

She cut him off.

"You want me to rip your nuts off, too?" she said, as she nonchalantly picked up a spanner off the floor.

_Bloody bollocks, she's a spitfire._

Just as he was about to suggest to Jasper that they should scram, the idiot spoke up again.

"You're Bella Swan," he stated.

Edward frowned in confusion. The name sounded familiar. To his surprise, the girl laughed in response. It was a sarcastic laugh, though. What she said next almost made his eyes pop out of his head.

"Yeah. And I _love_ threesomes!"

.

**AN: Does she, really? Thanks for reading, you guys. **


	4. Famous People and Newfound Fascinations

**Beta'd by PetiteBrunette. Though I did add some shit afterwards, so if there are errors, they're all on me.**

**.**

**Chapter 3 – Famous People and Newfound Fascinations**

"_Could this day get any worse?"_ she thought to herself.

First, the stupid tabloid piece and now _this_. In some not-pissed part of her brain – which, admittedly, was infinitesimal – she was marveling at the lengths Mac and Chris go to annoy her. But the larger part of her mind was focused on those two nutters who thought they could buy her motorbike. _Her baby_. There was the cap-wearing asshole, who had dared to touch her bike, and then there was his blonde sidekick, who, for some reason, couldn't stop gaping at her.

"You're Bella Swan." The sidekick stated, after studying her for ages.

_No shit, Sherlock._ She laughed drily.

"Yeah, and I love threesomes."

_Crickets chirping._ She blinked once.

She snorted as her words registered in her brain. When Mac and Chris started laughing, she couldn't help but join in. The looks on the faces of cap-wearing bike-thief and his lackey only served to fuel the hysterics. Sidekick's eyes looked like they were seconds away from popping out and you couldn't even see the eyebrows of cap-wearing nimrod.

"Did I just say that?" she managed between snickers.

Chris snorted. Mac just kept pointing at Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. His laughs were silent.

"Omigodi'mgonnadie" he choked out, holding onto his stomach.

Bella shook her head, chuckling at Mac's antics. Chris gave him a hand to get him off the floor.

"Man, that was hilarious." He said breathily, still holding on to Chris.

"You two knuckleheads better watch your backs, now." Bella reminded them, letting them know that despite the moment of levity, all was not forgotten.

Mac immediately sobered up.

"Ugh, that's what I hate about pranks." He whined.

"Yeah, well." Bella responded drily.

"Erm."

That was one of the clueless victims of this mega-prank. All eyes turned to them. She was wondering if she should say something but Chris beat her to it.

"Um, sorry guys. We just wanted to have a little fun with Bells and you got roped into my father's crazy scheme."

"Hey! It wasn't me. I didn't even know about Gregsshit-"

"It's Craigslist."

"Whatever the fuck it is, you told me about it and you better take responsibility, young man."

Bella shook her head as they argued like kindergarteners and looked at the cap-wearing ass – er – person. It wasn't his fault he was here. Besides, now that her boiling blood had cooled down, she could see that the ass – er – guy was actually very handsome. A light stubble dusting on his face, a strong jaw, green eyes glinting slightly in the dying sun.

Yep, motorbike-thief was quite a looker.

"These nuts," she gestured with her head at Mac and Chris "just like to piss me off. You guys got the brunt of it this time."

"It's alright. I'm Edward and this here is my friend, Jasper." The cap-wearing guy said with a smile as he introduced himself and his sidekick.

She was about to grasp his outstretched hand when a timid voice came from behind her.

"Um, excuse me. You're Ed Cullen, right?"

They all turned towards the source. There stood a pair of what Bella could only assume were grungy college students. The guy was a little behind the girl, probably not agreeing with her hypothesis.

"Er, yeah. I am." The cap-wearing Edward or Ed – or whoever the hell he was – said a little hesitantly. He ran his hand over his cap and once he realized it was in the way, he settled on tugging at the hair sticking out of it.

"_Dude_, we were at your concert last night." The guy came up now and offered his hand to "Ed Cullen".

"It was _so cool_." The girl was practically jumping, she was so giddy.

As they started whipping out cell phones, Bella quickly turned and made her way to the shop. She didn't want to end up in another tabloid, with an "Ed Cullen" this time.

She frowned at the name, because it rang a bell. Well, he was famous apparently, so she must have seen him around or something. Nothing new there. But there was something nagging at her. There was something different about this guy that she couldn't quite put her finger on. As she started pondering over it, she realized he didn't _look_ famous. Not in the pretentious, I've-got-it-all-baby-so-i-flaunt-it way. He was wearing a plaid shirt with sleeves rolled up to show his forearms, frayed jeans and messy sneakers. He looked – as ridiculous as it might sound – _normal_.

She looked back, just to confirm her theory. He was looking right back at her. Intense green eyes bored into curious brown. She ducked her head suddenly, feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed at getting caught, and hastily retreated back into the shop.

.

"How do you know her?"

"How do you _not_ know her?"

Typical Jasper – talking in circles.

"Just answer the fucking question, J."

After Edward had signed autographs and taken what felt like a trillion pictures with the fans, they had taken leave of Emmett and Chris, despite their invitations for a beer. He would have loved to stick around, just to catch another glimpse of her, if not for the meeting with his label producers. It was too important and unfortunately, his urge to get another look at this Bella Swan had to take a backseat. But he could definitely pester his best friend in the meantime, who seemed to know all about her. So as soon as they'd gotten inside the car, he started flinging questions at him a mile a minute.

"Man, if I didn't know better, I'd say you lived under a rock. Ever heard of Charles Swan?" Jasper shook his head at his friend's cluelessness.

"Yeah. Who hasn't?" Edward replied, familiar with the name.

"Well, thank God for small miracles." Jasper said sarcastically.

"Jasper!" he practically growled, not appreciating having to drag every word from Jasper's mouth.

"Calm the fuck down, man. She's his daughter. Bella _Swan_." Jasper replied, frowning. Edward was a very easygoing guy, so his aggravation right now wasn't really making sense.

"So that's it? She's the daughter of a famous director, so she's famous by association? She's not an actress or something?" Now that Jasper had finally started to give something, Edward was ravenous – wanting to know everything about her.

"She's done a few cameos. Mostly when she was quite young. But, no, she's not a professional actress." The blonde replied, as he shifted gears.

"Damn it, Jasper. This is like pulling teeth. Just tell me all you know about her." Edward snapped, at the end of his patience.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you. Would that help in getting that stick out of your ass?" Jasper retorted.

Edward huffed, as he reached up and set his hair free from the cap so that he could run his hands through it.

_Fucking finally._

As far back as he could remember, he'd always had this habit of running his hands through his hair. He did it when he was nervous. He did it when he was frustrated. He did it when he was stressed. He'd learnt the hard way in high school that he shouldn't ever put gel in it. Kate Warner – the girl who'd _reluctantly_ agreed to go to prom with him – had cancelled on him because she couldn't be seen with him when his hair looked like a "haystack".

"Sorry," he apologized a little gruffly, holding onto tufts of his hair.

Jasper looked at his remorseful face through the rearview mirror.

"It's fine. So yeah, Bella Swan. She's twenty one. She's studying-"

"No, J. Stop. Don't. I – shit – I shouldn't be asking you this. I'm violating her privacy. That's hypocritical, seeing as I value mine." Edward worried his hair, which now resembled the aforementioned haystack, sans gel.

Jasper couldn't control the smile that crept on his face. This was the Edward he knew. Always worrying over right and wrong. He was such an honest person, and that is what drew Jasper to him initially. You didn't find a lot of people like that in this business. Genuine, unassuming, brooding and a complete mama's boy. That's Edward Cullen for you, ladies and gentlemen.

"You asked for it, man." Jasper said, amused.

"I know." Edward scowled.

He couldn't believe he was practically chomping at the bit to get insight on the girl when he would have hated it if it were his information being dished out. But then, he'd never been so taken with a girl. A woman. Whatever. In the short amount of interaction he'd had with her, he knew she was special. She was unafraid to speak her mind, a quality he appreciated in people. She was fiercely independent – and fearsome. And boy was she beautiful.

He closed his eyes and he could still see her flushed face and brown hair, escaping the messy bun at the nape of her neck. Her eyes. Brown, ringed with gold. He never thought brown eyes could be so deep, never getting the hype about _Brown-eyed girl_. It was probably his least favorite Van Morrison song. But her eyes changed his perspective. So much so, that he could see himself writing a song about her brown eyes. Then there was her delicate nose, perched over what Edward swore was the most delectable mouth he'd ever seen. Pale pink, the bottom lip jutting out in a way that was just begging to be bitten.

_Woah_. He thought, a little overwhelmed by the feelings coursing through his body at the mere thought of kissing her. He opened his eyes and took a few deep breaths trying to control his reaction, sitting up straighter so it wasn't obvious.

"We're here, Edward." Jasper's voice cut through the mental haze.

He looked out of the window, and sure enough, they had arrived at their destination. Edward took another deep breath, trying to get his mind to concentrate on something other than Bella Swan.

Jasper did most of the talking throughout the meeting. Edward nodded appropriately, and chipped in when he could. Together, they answered questions and discussed possibilities with the powers that be regarding the progress of his next album.

He did zone out quite a bit, his mind, unbidden, returning to the object of his newfound fascination. He was glad Jasper was there or else he would've missed half of what's going on here.

That night, as he was lying in his bed trying – and failing – to fall asleep, he wondered why it was that she had caught his eye. He had seen a lot of beautiful women. And in the recent past, many women had approached him, but he was never tempted to begin with or he lost interest soon enough. What was it about Bella Swan that had him so completely hooked, when he barely even knew her?

One thing was for certain, though. He wanted to know her. He simply _wanted_ her, period. And this was definitely not going to be the last time he would see her.

.

"Did you see it?" Renee held up the offending piece of paper.

As he looked at the woman, who was his wife – at least, on paper – Charles couldn't see a single thing in her that had once attracted him to her. Yes, she was still beautiful. Her long blonde-dyed hair carefully twisted into a sophisticated bun. Her bronze, tanned skin. Her regal nightgown pulled in tight to showcase her slender form. And her legs. Those smooth, long legs that he had spent many a night worshipping.

She was beautiful, indeed. So much so, that at _fifty_ – he could almost hear her outraged gasp at him even thinking about her age – she could easily give all those supermodels a run for their money. But as he looked into her cold blue eyes, he didn't see all that. All he could see was the selfish, materialistic bitch behind all the reconstructive surgeries and fake tan.

"Of course I did, Renee. How could I not? You'd practically taped it to my breakfast tray." Charles drawled, leisurely sipping at his brandy. He was deliberately not looking at her. That she didn't have his complete attention when she's speaking would surely piss her off.

"I think you should talk to her." She refused to take the bait.

_This, again_. Why did he even put up with her?

"I think you should talk to her."

He roughly rubbed his face and then sighed.

"What should I talk to her about, Renee? That she shouldn't go out or have a life? That she should always smile pretty for the camera like her _mother_ does? That she shouldn't flip the bird at the paps? Let her be, Renee. Be her mother, for God's sake. Not her fucking publicist."

Renee gasped and her hand flew to her throat.

"You know I only tolerate your bullshit so that there'll be at least one parent she could turn to. But if you can't be a good mother, so help me God, I've got no reason to put up with you."

Charles rarely, if ever, displayed so much emotion in his speech. Or even spoke to her enough, aside from the occasional grunts of acknowledgment. His anger floored her. Speechless, she turned and left the room.

He sighed as he ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair. How could he expect Renee to be a good mother when he didn't know how to be a good father? He didn't know how to love his only fucking daughter. He was obviously a selfish fucker. He wouldn't know love if it hit him in the face. And he had a reputation to keep up. He couldn't risk tarnishing it by divorcing Renee, but she didn't have to know that.

He'd long since given up on reigning Bella in. She had a mind of her own and she was too stubborn to bend according to someone else's wishes. Besides, he couldn't say anything to her if he tried. She had something over him that had the potential of ruining him, if it ever saw the light of the day. After all, she'd walked in on him getting sucked off by some crew member.

.

**AN: Thanks for reading! I always appreciate what you guys have to say about my story. Any thoughts on this chapter? What do you think about the Charlie POV?**

**If it matters at all, my inspiration for this chapter was the "I'll be your lover, too" cover by Rob. I could listen to that song all day, everyday. And, hey, if you're not following "The Cullen Enterprise" by Amethyst Jackson, then what _are_ you following? I mean seriously. Here's the link:**

**net/s/8546502/1/**

**You know what to do with it.**

**Until next time, chicas.**

**NMF**


	5. Boring Professors & Mindblowing Concerts

**PoeticBrunette is an awesome beta who took time from studying for her mid-terms to set this straight, so if you like this – and even if you don't – please send up a prayer for her.**

**Chapter 4 – Boringass Professors and Mindblowing Concerts**

Bella Swan was bored out of her mind.

The past hour had trickled by torturously slow and this one wasn't looking any better. At the podium, Dr. Banner droned on in his characteristic nasally voice. The monotony of his lecture was lulling her to sleep. The dimmed lights weren't helping any.

_Whines and wheezes about something or the other. Runs the handkerchief over the shiny patina of his bald head. Changes slide. And the cycle continues._

She groaned quietly as she rubbed her face, wishing for the umpteenth time that the hour was up already. She absolutely hated this class. And when she'd ranted about it this morning as she was stuffing her face with last night's takeout, Mac had simply said "Then drop it". Bella had shaken her head and changed the subject. Mac never understood why she had to have a degree for everything she knew already. He didn't understand why someone would _want_ to study, never having gone past high school himself. He'd become a stuntman before he'd even graduated high school and Bella would forever thank her lucky stars for that, because how else would she have met him and Chris if he hadn't.

_Mac and Chris._

She loved them but sometimes the fuckers went too far with their pranks. They really needed to be taught a lesson. She smirked. They definitely needed that. She'd pick them out, one by one. Mac first. Definitely Mac.

_Maybe Miss Rose will help. _

Her devious grin morphed into a yawn as her mouth opened wide, displaying her pre-molars and molars for all to see. Patting the pockets of her cargo capris, she retrieved a packet of gum. As she was putting a stick of the sugary delight in her mouth, she scanned the lecture hall. Some of the people were restless, legs jiggling, anxious eyes darting to the huge wall clock, awaiting the end of this drag. Jared, Jake's best friend, was staring at the clock with single-minded determination, as if he could will it to move faster just by looking at it.

Most of the other students were in various states of lethargy. From where she was seated, she could see Jake was dozing off, his elbow on his desk and his palm poorly supporting his chin. As she watched, his hand started to go slack, his face slumping slowly. Just before his head hit the table, he jolted awake. She shook her head in amusement.

_When will this fucking purgatory end?_

It wasn't that the subject didn't interest her. She loved hydraulics. She could teach it better than Banner. Hell, she could teach this guy a thing or two, that's how much she knew about it. It was just the way he taught that made it worse than an archaeological excavation on History Channel – he made watching paint dry seem like an attractive alternative. Students fantasize about killing this son of a bitch in creative ways. He's one of _those_ teachers. There's always at least one professor whose lecture you want to escape, as desperately as a thirsty man seeks water in the desert. It's a law. As set in stone as Newton's Laws.

_Every action has a reaction, which is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction. _

_Every word out of this fat geezer's mouth makes the students' eyes droopier. _

Bella's Law of Boringass Professors. She snickered at her absurd thoughts. Wanting to share it with someone who appreciates her brand of humor, she swept her eyes across the hall to where Jake was seated. By now, he'd dropped all pretenses of trying to listen and was resting his head sideways on the desk, his mouth hanging open. Bella could swear there was drool, too.

She laughed silently. She never knew how people could sleep like that. She was a light sleeper. She couldn't sleep if there was a fly buzzing around in the room. Many a wall clocks around the house had seen premature deaths, just because they were guilty of ticking the passage of time when she was trying to fall asleep.

Inspiration struck suddenly as she was watching Jake's head loll about. She tore a piece of paper from her non-existent notes, scribbled down her latest "law" and crumpled it up. Next, she took the band out of her hair, letting it fall to her shoulders. She created a perfect hair band slingshot using two fingers of her right hand and then expertly engaged the scrunched-paper bullet. She closed one eye and took aim at Jake's head. Right when she was about to launch her "missile", an annoying voice cut through her concentration.

"Miss Swan, would you be so kind as to answer the question I just asked?"

Being typical Bella, she ignored Dr. Banner and let the paper missile take off before turning to him. The curses flying out of Jake's mouth meant her aim was spot on. Smiling to herself, she replied to the professor.

"Dr. Banner, I'm afraid kindness has skipped a few generations in my family. In fact, I'm pretty sure it wasn't even there to begin with."

The class laughed. The professor scowled, clearly not amused by her snark.

"Young lady, we do not tolerate insolence in this class, no matter whose daughter you are." The professor said in that obnoxiously self-righteous tone, which just made students want to do exactly the opposite of what they're asked to do.

"Well Sir, prejudice goes both ways. Wouldn't you agree?" She jibed, calling him out on his unfairness. The nutbag only knew her name because, well, who doesn't? And he always randomly called upon her for "answers", hoping to catch her off guard. He wanted to prove that she was nothing but an insipid Hollywood brat, who'd only gotten in because of her Daddy's connections.

He sputtered but Bella wasn't paying attention to him. She was ducking her head to get out of the trajectory of Jake's retaliatory missile. It hit an unsuspecting Jared on his ear. He opened up the paper-ball and a slow conniving smile stretched across his face. He stood up. Completely disregarding Banner, his hands fortified with paper-balls and strategically placed himself between Bella and Banner. She looked at Jared curiously but he just winked.

"You motherfucker!" he launched one of his missiles at Jake.

When Jake sent his own flying-missile, it sailed smoothly across the room, _way_ over the top of Jared's head and bumped straight into Banner's nose. Bella laughed along with everyone else. People started chanting silly, made-up war cries – she could swear someone shouted "Spartans, prepare for glory" – and an epic paper-ball war began. Paper-balls were flying every which way, and while pretty much everyone was actively participating, there were a few disgruntled murmurings from those who were waking up due to the mayhem.

Banner ran out of the hall, his lecture notes held aloft to protect his vulnerable bare head. Bella's only regret was that the hour was already up and that the war didn't hasten his departure. It did make it quite dramatic, though.

.

After the metaphorical post-war smoke had settled, Bella, Jake and Jared were sitting around laughing about what went down in class.

"Man, you shoulda seen the look on that fagtard's face." Jared tried to mimic Banner's horrified face as the others laughed.

"That was the most fun I've ever had in his class." Bella snickered.

"That was the most fun I've ever had in _any_ class." Jake amended.

"Ain't that the truth." he and Jared hi-fived, which turned into a series of complicated gestures before they fist bumped and that was the end of their bromantic handshake.

"Oh hey guys, before I forget, there's a concert at the Hollywood Bowl this Saturday and Leah's got tickets. You guys up for it?"

"Wait, let me check my social calendar," Jared said in a prissy voice as he pretended to look through his phone and then looked up. "Fuck yeah!"

Then both guys turned to Bella with identical questioning expressions.

"Have I ever said no to live music? Of course, I'll come." She accepted the invitation. If there was anything she loved as much as she loved fiddling with engines, it was music.

"Great. We'll work out the details later." Jake announced and waved a general goodbye, before he turned and walked away. "Later fuckers."

Bella got up and started to make her way to her next class and Jared invited himself along for the walk. "So, what're you doing tonight, Swan?" he leered at her.

She merely leveled him with a bored look. She'd hooked up with him once in their freshman year – one of the many bad decisions she'd made just to piss her parents off.

"What?"

"The fact that you believe I'd dignify that with an actual response makes you either really stupid or downright delusional." Bella drawled as she quickened her pace to get rid of him.

"So wait, are you trying to tell me you don't remember how I _rocked_ your world?" he smirked with a smug look on his face.

She stopped abruptly, causing him to walk ahead before he realized she'd stopped. Giving him her best _Are-you-kidding-me? _look. She walked over to him. "Let's get one thing straight – you didn't rock my world," now it was her turn to smirk "I rocked _yours_." She poked him to make sure the point had gotten through and then walked ahead.

Jared stood there stunned and more than a little turned on as he massaged his chest where she'd prodded the shit out of him. He watched as she walked away, her shapely calves disappearing into her ever-present high-top sneakers. His eyes traveled up to her ass but the view was blocked by her messenger bag. And because Swan knew the guys, and she knew he'd be ogling, she had her hands crossed over it, her protruding middle fingers telling him to _fuck off_.

.

Later, when Bella was completely engrossed in a book, perched on her favorite bench in the campus library, she heard a quiet voice from behind her.

"Heard you caused quite a stir in Dr. Banner's class."

She turned around to find her favorite professor grinning at her, his bluish-gray eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Who, me?" she said with an expression of mock-innocence. Dr. Carlisle Cullen chuckled lightly in response, shaking his head indulgently.

"Would you mind if I sit here?" he asked, ever the English gentleman, as he gestured to the empty seat next to her.

"Sure, Doc. Just please tell me you haven't been within ten feet of him. I've heard his bullshit is contagious." she lowered her voice in a conspiratorial manner.

Carlisle full out laughed at that and behind him, Bella could see the portly librarian approaching, all set to tell off the person who had dared to disrupt the serene environment of her sanctuary. She could tell the instant at which the woman realized who the miscreant was. Her eyes widened slightly and her hand flew to her chest.

_Be still my beating heart_, Bella thought wryly.

Dr. Carlisle Cullen had to be one of the most perfect men who graced the Earth with their presence. Not only was he a respected scholar, he was devastatingly handsome, with his silvery blonde hair and lean build. As if that wasn't enough, he was polished, sophisticated, and classy. His soft-spoken English mannerisms were to die for. Although Bella appreciated that as much as any other warm-blooded woman would, she down right _loved_ the way his mind worked. She'd attended his Mechanics class last semester and they'd hit it off when, after one particular session, they'd traded stories about their experiences with various engines and the next thing she knew, they were putting a Ford engine into a Volkswagen on a whim. And though it had failed miserably, as they both knew it would, they'd had a blast getting there.

"How are Mac and Chris doing?" he inquired, once he'd settled down. He'd gotten to know both of them really well after all the time he spent at the shop, working on the Volkswagen with Bella.

"They're Mac and Chris. They eat. They sleep. They annoy the living shit out of me. Oh, I should tell you what they did" and she proceeded to tell him all about the Craigslist prank they pulled on her. By the time she ended, they were both in stitches.

"The poor guys were looking at us like we're the Addams family or something and we're laughing our asses off." Bella told him once their laughter had subsided.

"They're devious. Diabolical even. I can appreciate their creativity." Carlisle said with a smile.

"Oh no. You wouldn't be saying that if it were your motorbike they'd tried to sell. Trust me." she replied seriously.

"I stand corrected." He acknowledged before he fished out his iPhone from his coat pocket.

"Ooo, Is it Esme?" Bella teased, as if they were both middle school girlfriends in gossip mode. She'd come to learn that Dr. Carlisle Cullen was a devoted husband and though she had only met the lucky woman a handful of times, she knew without a shadow of doubt that their dedication was mutual.

He smiled. "As a matter of fact, it is."

"It's so precious, you guys are texting." Bella fluttered her eyelashes dramatically and held her hand to her heart.

"I can't type with these tiny virtual buttons, you know that. Esme insists, though. Thank God for Siri." Carlisle joked. "Speaking of whom, when are you coming to meet her again?"

"Carlisle, Siri lives in all iPhones. Yours isn't unique, trust me. In fact -" she said in a condescending tone, but Carlisle jumped in before she could continue.

"Cheeky, aren't you?"

"Well, I sure think so."

"Bella, jokes aside, Esme was disappointed you didn't show up at the charity luncheon she hosted."

"Carlisle," she responded, giving up her joking stance, "you know I've been involved with her cause since she told me about it. I simply love that she's helping little children and underprivileged families and I have more money than I know what to do with, so I donate. I feel their pain, so I go and talk to them sometimes. But please don't expect me to attend those stuffy parties where people throw money just to make themselves look better. Take it from me, I know the type. Those people make my skin crawl."

She shivered, "I can't pretend to be nice and I know for a fact that Esme would be far more upset if I caused a scene at one of those things than if I didn't show up at all. "

"Fair enough. What do you think about a dinner, though? You could bring Mac and Chris too, of course." The handsome professor pleaded.

"Ugh, fine. I'll come. We don't say no to free meals." Bella gave in, huffing good-naturedly.

"There you have it, my dear. I don't think you realize how charming you are when you want to be." Carlisle said with an arched brow.

"Well -" her snarky comeback was cut short as her cell phone decided to make its presence known by blaring AC/DC. The librarian gave her a glare and she snickered as she cancelled the call.

"I have to get this. Later, Doc." Bella said as she haphazardly stuffed her papers into her messenger bag.

"Good Day, Bella." Carlisle responded pleasantly, as he watched the young woman make her way to the door. Her cell phone went off yet again and he could hear her telling the librarian "Yeah, yeah, I'm outta here," as she started walking faster. From the moment she'd met Bella, his wife had decided she was the perfect girl for their son. While Carlisle didn't like to dictate Edward's life, he was never one to contradict his wife. Besides, he was a bit curious himself to see how that interaction would go. It would be explosive – of that he was absolutely certain. But as to whether the explosion would be destructive or not remained to be seen.

.

.

Edward had had a crazy busy week. He had promotional interviews by day and gigs by night. His first album, "Threadbare", had been far more successful than he'd imagined and now, according to Jasper, more recognizable labels wanted to snatch him away from his current indie label. There were negotiations going on and he wanted no part in it. The solitude before the shows was the only down time he'd gotten for a few weeks now.

As he sat there, backstage, tinkering with his guitar, he closed his eyes and all he could see was curious brown. The curve of her jaw. The curl of her lips. His own lifted involuntarily, because every time he thought of her, he smiled. He was drawn to the fire in her eyes. And he needed to figure out a way to meet her, because from what he saw in that brief encounter, you can't just pick Bella Swan up. He also didn't feel confident about asking her out. He had to do something but he was drawing a blank.

His phone ringing brought him out of his reverie. He picked up without looking at the screen because he knew who it was. It was a long-standing tradition. His mom called him before every performance.

"Hey ma."

"Edward," came the sweet reply of his mother. That single word conveyed it all. How happy she was to hear his voice. How proud she was of him. How much she loved him.

As usual, they talked about anything and everything. They never talked about his upcoming performance. She calmed him and eased his nervous jitters. He loved her beyond words. She'd always been there for him and she'd never given up on him. She told him to follow his dreams and believed in him when even he himself didn't. Everything he was now, he owed it to her.

"Now is there a possibility that I will see my son – actually see him and not on the telly?" Though her words were light, as if she were discussing weather, Edward saw them for what they were – a chastisement.

"Of course, ma. Provided that you make my favorite." He joked.

"Oh, so now there are stipulations attached to a visit, which, might I add, has been delayed by two whole weeks." Her tone didn't change.

"Ma, it's not a stipulation. It's a request. Won't you _please_ make me my favorite?" he said with a childish tone.

"My one parenting failure. I've spoiled you rotten. Have I ever said no to you?" She sighed, playfully resigned. "How does Thursday sound?"

"Sounds great to me."

They said their goodbyes after that, because it was almost time for the show. Earlier in the day, he'd done all the sound checks and now all he had to do was go out and give a kickass performance. He knew he could. He was utterly terrified of speaking in front of crowds, but he loved sharing his music with them. Jasper didn't understand how one was different from the other, but then, Jasper wasn't a musician.

He was never good at articulating his thoughts, but he knew he was good at singing and making music. When he was supposed to speak, he was fearful, which translated into awkwardness. When he sang, he put his heart out there. He was confident and that confidence was exuded in his performances. And the feedback from the audience always helped.

When he looked at the overwhelming amount of people who were there to hear him sing, he wasn't nervous. His heart was beating wildly, but that was the adrenaline. He was excited and so were they. And as he took the stage and the deafening screams rose from the crowd, he absorbed their exhilaration and anticipation. He basked in it. And just for a second when he closed his eyes, he imagined Bella standing there, cheering him on and the feeling of absolute elation that swept through him, had him grinning like an idiot. God, did he want that to be real.

Unbeknownst to Edward, Bella _was_ right there in the crowd, hollering along with everyone else just for the heck of it. She recognized the name "Ed Cullen" because he was the motorbike-thief. How could she forget?

Ed Cullen sat on a stool with his guitar strapped across his plaid-clad body. His worn jeans were probably the same ones he'd been wearing when he'd come to _buy_ her Ducati. His hair was a chaotic mess and in the spotlight trained upon him, it looked like a halo over his head. His stubble burned golden on his face. She remembered her epiphany from the other night. He really was a good looking son of a bitch.

She was waiting to see if he really lived up to all the gushing Leah did on the way over. Jake had also waxed lyrical about the guy and she was strangely looking forward to seeing him in action. When he started strumming the guitar, the crowd's cheers almost drowned the sound. Besides her, Leah was jumping up and down, and Jared was hooting with his hands wrapped around his mouth like a loudspeaker. Jake was looking through his phone to turn on the Zippo app he'd downloaded just for the concert.

Then he started singing and Bella's heart just about stopped before it started up double time, as if it was on Hi-Octane fuel. His soulful, rough voice cut straight to her bone as he sang about loneliness, frayed jeans and threadbare t-shirts. She closed her eyes and just listened to his voice croon into the microphone – there might as well have been no one else in the whole arena. She was consumed by it. She was mesmerized by the beauty of the song and the way he sang told you that this isn't merely a song, there's a story behind it. This was why she loved live music. You can feel the musician's passion, which cannot be engineered into the record.

Too soon, the song ended and he moved on to others but Bella could still feel his words deep down within her. He put his heart and soul into his music and he wasn't afraid to show it. He was dedicated to his work and she respected that. She appreciated that. She _loved_ that.

This time when Bella joined in the applause, it was because she had genuinely enjoyed the song and wanted to hear more. And when Ed Cullen announced that it was the last song in his set, she felt the wave of disappointment, which was multiplied because her fellow audience was just as bummed as she was. She booed along with them and when he gave in and got ready for a cover song, she was sure her elation surpassed the emotions of all the other fans gathered there.

She didn't know if it was the fact that he chose one of her favorite songs to cover or that he sung it just so, but she knew she would never be able to listen to the original version of the song again and not find it lacking. He captured all the emotions she felt whenever she heard it and she was absolutely in awe of his talent. When the song ended, she just stood there with her eyes clenched shut and her hands over her ears trying to let the final chords resound through her head. She wanted to memorize it and listen to it again and again. On a loop.

But before she knew it, her Ed Cullen-induced buzz was shattered as Leah started to pull her by the hand. She looked at Jake for an explanation but he was too busy vibrating like a four year old with a sugar rush.

"Jake." She tried to get his attention to no avail. "Jake. JAKE!" she'd finally had enough and shouted out loud, as she punched his shoulder to get his attention.

"What the fuck, Bella?" Jake complained like the pussy he was, while rubbing his assaulted shoulder.

"I've been calling your name for days, dickhead. Mind explaining to me why the fuck we're fighting our way into the arena instead of out?" she demanded as they kept moving upstream, into the outpouring of gazillion fans. As they moved, her cap got picked off her head somehow and despite her friend's protests, she went back to retrieve it because it was her favorite.

"My girl doesn't do anything half-assed. She's got backstage passes and we get to meet Ed Cullen!" Jake exclaimed proudly as he squeezed Leah around her shoulders. He probably put a little too much force and Leah's slap on his bare biceps produced a smack which had both Jared and Bella laughing.

"Boy, I hope they don't embarrass us by asking him to have a threesome with them." Bella said into Jared's ear as he chuckled.

There were around twenty other people in the room and she could see the blonde sidekick coming over to where they were standing.

"I believe you have tickets," he asked Jake in an uptight voice as if he had a giant stick up his ass. Before Jake could hand him the tickets Bella got in between them and the blonde's eyes bugged out.

"I believe you know me. Yes, I'm Bella Swan. Do we really need tickets?" Bella cocked her eyebrow.

"Erm, Ma'am, I-uh- It's protocol"

Jared snorted and Jake sniggered. Leah simply swatted them aside and handed the mumbling moron their passes.

"Oh Bella, have mercy on the poor guy." She said airily. Bella made a face behind her and straightened it just as Leah turned to look at her. Just then the decibel level of the room went up times a million, signaling the presence of a star among common folks.

He came in with an extra layer of leather-jacket protection over his shirt, and his hands running through his hair. The sheepish look on his face showed he was uncomfortable with the attention focused on him. All the girls – including Leah _and Jake_ – flocked toward him, as he helplessly looked at his sidekick. By the look on his face, the sidekick was enjoying this a little too much.

"Now ladies, if you would just line up, Edward would be happy to take pictures with you and give you autographs." He stated with authority, but unfortunately for him, no one was listening.

Girls were saying shit like "Omigoditsedcullen", to which Bella and Jared joked, "No shit!"

There were also numerous declarations of undying love which caused the singer to flush with embarrassment while the manager flushed with suppressed laughter.

A girl shoved a hugeass poster in his face and told him to autograph. He said with candid surprise, "Is this me? Woah, they really know how to photoshop."

Bella and Jared lost it at that and when she looked up, her eyes met the amused green ones of a certain singer.

"Uh oh. Busted." Jared chortled when he followed Bella's line of sight.

Ed Cullen handed the autographed poster to the swooning fangirl and moved forward, the sea of admirers parted for him and he stopped right in front of Bella.

"Fancy seeing you here, Bella"

But before she could react, an awed voice said "Wait a minute. You _know_ him?"

.

.

**AN: Man, I don't know what to say. A reader - and I still need to figure out who – rec'd me to the "Underappreciated, Yet Awesome Twilight Fics" community and that has significantly increased my readership. It scares me to think that this many people are going to read the shit I write. Have mercy on this rookie and let her know what you think. Suggestions are welcome.**

**Thank you for reading, you guys.**

**NMF**


	6. Boob Signatures and Tabloid Fodder

**PoeticBrunette has a magic wand.**

**.**

**Chapter 5 – Boob Signatures and Tabloid Fodder**

Singing in front of an enthusiastic audience always gave Edward a high and afterwards, he was like a kid hyped up on exuberant amounts of candy.

It was actually a good thing that he had so much energy. It meant he couldn't focus on worrying about the fan meetings. He put on his black leather jacket – all the more pockets for wringing his hands, if need be. He paced around, too energetic to stand still.

Finally, his phone buzzed, a green light from Jasper, signaling that it was time. He took a deep breath and blew it out as he made his way out there to meet the fans. When he entered the room, there were gasps and shouts and exclamations. Before he knew it, he was surrounded by all these people who were cutting off each other's sentences and talking over each other. He just smiled as he ran his fingers through his hair, which was a little damp from sweat.

He could tell Jasper was trying to gain control of the situation, but no one lent an ear to what he was saying. The girls were shaking with excitement and the guys weren't any better. He autographed a t-shirt for one girl and a pink glittery notebook for a guy who swore that it was his sister's while blushing fifty shades of red. Edward genuinely grinned and signed it _with extra love_. He autographed anything they put in front of him and posed for pictures with them – getting close to them and hugging them, if they asked.

One girl came up with a poster of his face, where half of it was in a shadow. The effects were impressive and gave him a kind of mysterious sexiness that he didn't actually posses. He made a comment about Photoshop and was surprised to hear laughter. It sounded familiar. He turned toward the source and to his utmost disbelief, it was Bella. He blinked a few times to make sure his performance-induced high wasn't causing hallucinations.

She was wearing black cut-off jean shorts that displayed her smooth long legs and a black, female version of his jacket, over a white tank top. Her brown, wavy ponytail was sticking out of her cap. He raked his eyes from her black sneakers and made his way over her toned legs to her petite ass. Feeling a little guilty for his blatant ogling, he looked to see if he'd been caught in the act. Just then, she turned and her eyes met his. His stomach somersaulted.

Suddenly his energy returned full-force and he was giddier than the fans surrounding him. He returned the poster to his admirer and excused his way out of the throng of fans, making a beeline toward Bella.

"Fancy seeing you here, Bella." he blurted, his washed-off accent quite prominent.

_What the hell? Who says shit like that anymore? Fancy seeing you? Ugh, kill me now._

While he was fretting over his greeting, Bella didn't know what to think about being approached like this. She had met him, that was for sure, but she didn't remember ever telling him her name. The sidekick must've filled him in on it.

"_Or the tabloids._" Her rational side helpfully supplied.

"Wait a minute. You know him?"

Leah's voice was equal parts incredulous and wondering, her eyes wide and a little unfocused. Bella didn't want to know what was going on behind them, because she could tell it had something to do with Leah, Jake and Ed – together. She shuddered these thoughts away.

_Do I know him?_ Bella asked herself.

She looked at Leah and said "I don't." Then she raised her eyes to look at Ed and a part of her brain registered that he was tall. Dismissing that notion, she cocked her eyebrow at him, "I don't remember ever telling you to call me _Bella."_

The confident singer all but drained out of this man before her very eyes, as his ears turned pink and he tugged the hair at the back of his head. He was looking everywhere but at her as he opened his mouth and closed it again.

"I'm sorry that was presumptuous of me." He apologized softly, locking his gaze with hers.

"But you just said – and he knew your name – " Leah stammered, still trying to make sense of what was going on, causing Bella to roll her eyes.

"Babe," Jake piped in, now that his own shock had worn off, "don't play Nancy Drew. Blonde really isn't your color."

The resounding thump and Jake's "Ow" made Bella smile. She figured she'd put them all out of their misery, as Edward fidgeted a little with one hand buried in his jacket pocket and the other in his hair.

"Hey Jake, you remember how some _douches_ came to the shop to buy my Ducati?"

Edward looked up, when she emphasized on "douches", to see her smirking devilishly. A smile slowly crept across his face. She was fucking with him.

"Holy Shit. No _way_." The burly guy, who Edward assumed was Jake, came forward and looked between him and Bella.

"Way," Bella confirmed with a nod of his head as Edward continued to look at her, thoroughly entertained now.

"Wait. Is this the blonde sidekick?" The Jake-guy nodded to where Jasper was standing, seeing this whole scene unfold.

"Hey, I resent that." Jasper protested, much to Edward's delight. "I'm not a _sidekick_."

"I won't apologize for the names my mind comes up with when I'm pissed." Bella told Jasper matter-of-factly.

Edward asked curiously, "What did you call me?"

"Well, you were the cap-wearing asshole." She said like it was obvious. "Sometimes the bike-thief."

"But there was an ad-"

"Which I didn't put up."

"Doesn't change the fact that it was there. I called to confirm." Edward stated a tad indignantly.

"You didn't c– Oh those fuckers." Edward could see the anger in her eyes and the pucker of her eyebrows. Then her face transformed and she went from angry to up-to-no-good in two seconds flat.

"I know that look. What are you thinking?" Jake asked, confirming Edward's diagnosis.

"Let's just say, Mac won't know what hit him when I'm through with him." Her eyes glinted mischievously, "I'm gonna need your help with Chris, though."

"This is gonna be good." Jake laughed evilly, as he rubbed his hands together. The black-haired girl by his side looked a little impatient and more than a little pissed off at not being in on the secret between Bella and Jake.

"So you do know him." She said in an accusatory tone as she came up to Bella and put her hand on Bella's waist. Bella immediately stepped forward to get away from her and ended up bumping into Edward. He was only too happy to place his arm around her – just to steady her, of course. She was having none of that, though. Jake and the other guy were laughing their asses off while Bella disentangled herself from Edward and sent a cold glare toward Jake.

"One word asshole – fucking leash." Bella said through gritted teeth.

"That's two words, Bells." Jake choked out between laughs. Edward guessed this was an inside joke and the only thing keeping him from prying was that the girl looked just as confused as he felt.

"Um, Ed. The fans are waiting." Jasper hinted and Edward was reminded of where they were standing.

"We're fans, too." The girl – Jake's girlfriend, he assumed – reminded them, haughtily.

"Of course." Jasper said smoothly before giving Edward a significant look, telling him to wrap it up.

"Sure, do you have something I can sign for you?" Edward asked. She didn't look too enthused by Edward's offer and looked over to Bella, who was scowling at her.

"What Leah? I don't have a pansy-ass autograph book. Get him to sign your boob or something." Edward could swear she mumbled something about "fondling".

"But if you know him, why were you asking about him on the way over?" the girl, Leah, said and Edward's eyebrows went up as he soaked in her words.

"You were asking about _me_?" Edward asked haughtily. He couldn't help it. He was exhilarated beyond belief that she would be interested in him in any capacity.

"Ok. One – I don't know him. I just met him. And on the way, I didn't even know whose concert it was and you and Jake started gushing." She ranted at Leah and then turned to Edward. "Oh, wipe that smug look off your face. I didn't ask about _you_."

"You were fishing, Bells and you know it." Jake said, completely unafraid. The guy standing next to Jake nodded dutifully.

"Why don't you get him to sign _your_ boob?" Leah suggested, and weirdly enough, her voice sounded a little husky, as if she was turned on by the idea. Thinking about it, though, Edward could see why that would be arousing.

"May I?" Edward asked without thinking.

There was a moment of silence before everyone started laughing. Jake and his partner started catcalling. Edward wanted to dig a hole right there and bury himself. He expected Bella to fly off the handle, but she surprised him by closing her eyes and laughing through her nose.

Then she walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned closer. So, close that the stiff projection of her baseball cap was resting on Edward's shoulder. They were standing toe-to-toe and her temple was a hair's breadth away from his lips. He took in her scent – it was chocolate with a hint of leather. Intoxicating. Impulsively he placed a hand on the small of her back.

Her lips were at his ear, "Not so fast, hotshot. You think I'd let you – um – _sign _my boob already? I'm a lot of things, but easy ain't one of 'em."

Then she thumped his shoulder twice before she turned and walked away. He swallowed audibly, as he watched her very fine derriere sway away from him.

"I have the keys, douchelickers. Be out in five if you don't want to take a cab home."

.

Two hours and who-knows-how-many autographs later, Edward was sitting at the bar in Jasper's dimly-lit kitchen, as Jasper was rummaging through his refrigerator.

"Here you go." Jasper said, as he threw a beer to Edward.

He came around the bar and leaned against it, facing Edward. Because Jasper was good at reading people, he could see by the way Edward's fingers were making circles over the can instead of opening it – as he otherwise would've – that he was preoccupied.

"What's on your mind, man?"

"I like Bella."

"Okay" Jasper drawled.

When he didn't say anything else for a long time, Edward turned to look at him. He was a little surprised to find his friend frowning.

"What?"

"She's – Edward," he shook his head, "You can't –"

Jasper had known this was a possibility, ever since the whole bike fiasco. He remembered how Edward had grilled him about wanting to know her. That wasn't like him. Edward was an artist – a very passionate person, who could write better songs in his sleep than most best-selling artists write in their peak. Jasper had recognized this talent for what it was. When he'd first met him, Edward was still an awkward teenager who couldn't sing except within the confines of his bathroom. He'd long since broken out of his shell, but sometimes Jasper felt like he was still new to the world. He felt protective of him in a brotherly way and he'll be damned if anyone took advantage of his naivety on his watch.

Edward was watching Jasper warily now. He had known him for five years and never once had he seen him speechless. He'd always given him straight facts. He was his agent, manager and one of his biggest supporters but he hadn't ever promised him that he'd get signed. He encouraged him. Honed him and used his connections to get his songs heard. He gets most of the credit for where Edward is now. But he was never one to mince words, so his stuttering worried him.

"Edward, you know I've always told you you're very trusting of people. I've seen the worst in them, and trust me, they can get ugly. You just started, man and mark my words, you're going to be huge. Your media image is an important part of your success as an artist.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that Bella Swan is not good for you. She'll get you a lot of publicity, that's for sure but it'll be the negative kind. You don't know her."

"And you do?" Edward frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, J. I'm asking how you know her, because she sure as hell didn't mention knowing you."

"You know what I mean, Edward. From what I can tell, she had some problems with her parents. She moved out from her parents' house when she was sixteen and moved in with that McCarty guy. It was quite scandalous."

"Do you know why?" Edward challenged.

"It's not hard to guess. Sources-"

"Aren't reliable," Edward finished his sentence for him, "You remember last month, I was _spotted_ talking to Tanya Denaliand suddenly I was dating her. Then the story kept getting more absurd. We weren't just talking, we were kissing and _canoodling_. I still don't know what the fuck that is, by the way."

"Yeah, that was _Tanya Denali_. She's an A-lister, Edward. You got some good press –"

"You're being intentionally thick, J."

"And _you're_ being pig-headed." Jasper retorted, losing his cool.

"I – shit, J. I didn't want to say it but you of all people should know how the press can twist things out of context just to make an earning."

Jasper's eyes shut as his breath hitched. This was a sore subject for him. Suddenly, he felt so much older than thirty. He rubbed his hands over his face as he took in a shaky breath. He could still see the devastated, tear-filled face of his beautiful wife, as if the image was burned into his retina. He took in another breath, trying hard not to lose it.

"I'm sorry." He heard Edward's quiet voice.

He simply nodded and took a sip out of his long forgotten beer. Absent-mindedly, he stroked his wedding ring.

"Edward," he said when he could speak again, "you don't know what it's like. Relationships aren't easy and when you're trying to figure it out in front of everyone else, that's even more daunting. It just causes more heartache than it's worth. You _have_ to be a strong person. You have to have a thick skin, to let the ugly words ricochet off. Trust me, I know.

"You're right. I don't know her. And I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. But Edward, it's not just her. I know you. You're an all-in kind of person. I don't know her but I do know people and I can tell you this: She's got thick skin. You could get hurt."

"You know what Bob Marley said. Everyone's going to hurt you. You just have to find the ones worth suffering for. Or something along those lines."

Jasper smiled pensively. He saw a lot of him in this guy, that's why he took him on in the first place, when he was a nobody with a bad case of stage fright. There was reverence in the way he played any instrument, which made every note that he created utterly poignant. Anyone with half a brain could hear that.

"You make your own choices, Edward. I won't interfere if you want to pursue a relationship with her, but hear me out," he looked at him somberly, "Don't fuck up all the hard work we've put in to get you here."

.

"Miss Rose?" Bella called out as she poked her head from Miss Rose's front door.

The woman never locked her door and she was always in the art studio at the back of the house. You could spend days banging her door and she wouldn't respond. Her doorbell was out of commission because it had had enough. Bella had a permanent invitation to get into her house, though, so she went right in.

The house was decorated in warm colors. Chrome and brown and other shades Bella couldn't even dream about naming correctly. As she made her way to the studio, she could hear faint strains of Charles Bradley. Miss Rose had a vinyl collection to rival iTunes song collection and she'd given Bella free reign over it. She had two different library-like shelves for them and they were organized by year and then by genre. It was pretty complex but she was very particular about the order. She was the reason Bella knew artists like Charles Bradley, Eddie Hope and the Mannish Boys existed. It would've been an injustice if she'd died without hearing them play.

"Miss Rose," she said, as she entered the older woman's refuge.

"Oh, Hello Bella. How are you this fine morning?" Miss Rose's head appeared from behind the shelves, before she went back to her perusal.

"I'm good. How are you?" Bella plopped down on the red bean bag she was quite taken with. This place was like a second home to her. It smelled of paints and mixing chemicals, and the bright yellow walls reminded her of sunshine. The easel was set up in the right corner of the room, strategically to get the maximum benefit of the sunlight filtering out of the sheer curtains.

"Judging by the way my tits are tingling, I know it's going to be a good day."

Bella grinned. Miss Rose was a personal hero to her. She lived alone. She'd always been alone. Bella respected her privacy and she would never poke her nose where it doesn't belong, but she knew Miss Rose didn't have a pretty past. She did know, though, that at fifty five – Miss Rose says only fake plastics have a problem admitting their age – she's happy as can be. She'd never married and she didn't have any children. That much she'd surmised from all their conversations over the years.

She was beautiful in a Meryl Streep kind of way. She had a petite frame – and as Mac often said, _fuckawesome tits_. She had hazel eyes, framed by elegant eyebrows. Her blonde hair was always held up by a paint brush or two, of various thicknesses. Try as she might, Bella could never create the same artless bun with hers. Maybe her failure had something to do with the fact that she was using a mini screwdriver.

But Miss Rose really was a sight to behold, the only indication to her age were the slight wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. She could see why Mac desperately wanted her and deep within, she could relate with her insistence of remaining single. She felt a sort of kinship with her. She was the only girlfriend Bella had – if she could call her that. Miss Rose would kick her ass for even thinking that. She never got along with the catty girls at her private school and with the field she'd chosen, she was around more men than women anyways. She was just more comfortable with men, by default. Miss Rose was the only exception to that rule. Her bond with Miss Rose was yet another thing in the hefty list of things she had Mac to thank for.

Bella was brought back to earth by Miss Rose's voice, "So, what brings you here, young padawan?"

"I need help."

"Oh Bella, I don't think I can help you," she said seriously, "I'm too pretty to go to jail. Besides, I don't do orange."

Bella laughed and Miss Rose joined in.

"Now that we've cleared _that_ up," Bella started again, "I want to get back at Mac."

"You had me at 'get back at Mac'," Miss Rose said, eliciting another laugh from Bella.

"Good." Bella approved.

"So, what's the plan? I'm all ears."

.

"_I'm having a bad, bad day, _

_It's about time that I get my way, _

_Steamrolling whatever I see, _

_Huh, despicable me. _

_I'm having a bad -"_

"Fuck's sake, Mac." Bella growled from the passenger seat of his silver Audi S8. They were en route to Carlisle's house for the dinner he'd promised. Chris cand Mac, who was driving her up the wall with his silly song. It wasn't even the complete song. It was just these few verses that he'd been singing for the past fifteen minutes and Bella was about ready to slay a fucker. He also kept reducing the speed when she asked him to step on it and now, they were moving at a snail pace. Her patience was running thin.

"_It's about time that I get my way_," Mac's hand, which wasn't steering, adjusted a non-existent knob in the air and his voice got louder.

"You know you love it, Bellsy." He insisted.

"Bellsy?"

"What, I figured I'd try something new."

Bella rolled her eyes. At least he wasn't singing anymore. And then…

"I'm having a -"

"I'm going to kill you." Bella proclaimed.

"Not before I get to you, little girl." Mac said, in a pseudo-Spanish accent.

Bella shook her head at his silliness. "I'm going to disown you if you keep this up," she joked.

Mac snorted.

"Take a left here," she directed him, down the lane that led to the white mansion the Cullen's called home. Mac whistled as the house came into view. It really was breathtaking.

"Fuck," Bella cursed.

"What? Is this where the three bears live? Is this an ambush? What is it? Tell me? TELL ME?"

"Cut the drama, Juliet. I just remembered we forgot to bring anything." She face palmed.

"Oh, that. I've got it covered." He jerked his thumb to the back seat, where a huge box was sitting, covered in a pretty pink bow.

"Wow, Betty Crocker. I didn't know you had it in you."

"B, I'm not a complete Neanderthal."

"_Complete_ being the operative word."

"Okay, that's it." And he got out of the car in one smooth motion.

She smiled, "What, you don't have a witty comeback?"

"Do not play with me, little girl," he started his Latino impersonation again.

Bella just walked ahead and knocked lightly on the cherry wood door. It was so shiny and smooth, she was worried about putting a dent on it if she knocked any harder.

"Bella," Carlisle smiled as he opened the door. He looked casually sophisticated in his light blue polo shirt and khaki pants.

"'Sup Doc?" she said as she nodded at him and went into the house.

"Alright there, Doc?" Mac asked in an exaggerated British accent.

"Great. You?" Carlisle's voice dripped with amusement.

"Bloody perfect." Mac kept up with the silly charade.

Bella stopped mid-stride when she saw who was in front of her.

"What the fuck are _you_ doing here?"

.

_**Ed Cullen Taming the Wild Swan?**_

_No, you aren't seeing things. After his allegedly mind blowing performance at the Hollywood Bowl last night, Ed Cullen met up with some lucky fans backstage and an eyewitness tells _The Gossip Mill_ correspondent that the singer's eyes "lit up" when he saw Swan there and he had everyone wait so that he could talk to her._

_Cullen, who is known to be a rather private person and clams up when asked about anything that goes on in his personal life, seems to be completely okay with a little canoodling amidst the fans – though not with his rumored girlfriend Tanya Denali. Are they history? Is Swan his next PYT?_

_A source tells us that Swan and Cullen looked pretty cozy together, joking around with friends. And seeing these pictures, anyone can tell that there is definitely something going on between the unlikely couple._

_Knowing Swan though, she's probably just hooking up with the 'Threadbare' star to poach off of the attention his debut album seems to be getting. Beware Ed Cullen. Since you seem like a nice guy, we'll offer you some free advice – stay the hell away from Swan. She'll ruin you without batting an eyelash._

_While we believe Swan is just too desperate for some positive attention that she would latch on to anyone to be in the spotlight, _The Gossipmongers_ believes that this might just be a PR stunt for Cullen, after all, an up-and-coming artist can never get too much media exposure. What are your thoughts on that? Comment below and let us know._

_Subscribe to _The Gossip Mill_ to get regular updates on all the latest celebrity gossip._

**.**

**.**

**AN: Holy Cannoli! There's some drama for you. It seems that I have VampShire to thank for the rec, so thanks Vampy! **

**What do you think about broken-hearted Jasper? Care to guess who Bella found inside the Cullen's house? Ten bucks says you wouldn't guess correctly.**

**A guest reviewer said that it was too cliché that Bella knows Carlisle and Esme. She really doesn't know Esme well, but yeah, she does know them. While I haven't planned this story, but out of the few things I was sure about from the time I started, it was that she knew Carlisle. I like to think that it's a bit not-so-cliche that she is his former student. I'll try to avoid anymore cliches but then again, there's nothing new under the sun.**

**The Bob Marley quote was:**

"**The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for."**

**I always love hearing what you guys have to say. I hope none of you or your loved ones have been affected by the storm.**

**NMF**


	7. Meddlesome Noses and Hot Harleys

**PoeticBrunette beta'd this chapter.**

**Chapter 6 – Meddlesome Noses and Hot Harleys**

"What the fuck are _you_ doing here?"

Bella couldn't believe her eyes. Standing before her, admiring a piece of art hung on the wall was none other than her so-called mother. Of all the places in the world, what the hell was Renee doing in the Cullen's house? She turned when she heard Bella's voice.

Renee looked as done-up as ever, with her blonde hair straightened to perfection and her stupid designer clothes. Her talons were a deep blood-curdling red, which, in Bella's opinion, was a color no woman her age should be wearing. The only thing natural about her was the scowl that looked like it was permanently etched on her face.

"_Isabella._ That is not the way to speak to your mother."

"Wait," Bella pretended to be shocked, and put a hand over her heart, "I have a _mother?"_

Renee opened her mouth to answer but Carlisle and Mac chose that moment to enter the foyer, laughing like old friends. Mac's smile froze on his face when he saw Renee and he quickly strode toward Bella.

"Bell, I thought you said this wasn't an ambush. What's Goldilocks doing here, Red?" he spoke in a low voice that was sure to carry over.

"You've got your tales confused, Mac. Red Riding Hood had the wolf in it. Goldilocks was in the three bears' story." Bella reminded him, intentionally ignoring the seething look on Renee's face.

"Well, a wolf in a blond wig." Mac trailed off, meaningfully.

"I heard that."

"You were meant to. Hello, by the way. I'd say nice to see you but we both know that would be a lie."

Behind them, Carlisle cleared his throat, looking a little uncomfortable at witnessing what was clearly meant to be private conversation.

"I'll just- I think Esme needs me." He mumbled, before starting to climb the stairs but Renee turned her attention to him.

"Carlisle, please tell Esme that I'm grateful for her help." She said with a polite smile. "I better get going."

"I'll see you out." Carlisle's chivalry kicked in and he made to change his course.

"Please do." Bella muttered, just as Renee said, "No need to do that, Carlisle. Bella, why don't you come out with me?"

Bella sighed exasperatedly. She just wanted to get this shit over with so she put a metaphorical muzzle on her mouth as she drudged her feet behind Renee. When they got close to Renee's shiny black BMW 7 Series sedan, a driver in white uniform exited the car and came around to open the door for her.

"Jordan!" Bella exclaimed, actually happy to see him, "How're you doing, man?"

Jordan smiled at Bella then cut his eyes at Renee before returning, "I'm doing well. Thank you, Miss Swan."

Bella raised an inquisitive eyebrow and mouthed _"Miss Swan?" _at the old man, whom she'd known since she was an infant. The guy knew her better than her supposed mother did and he was calling her that. He pressed his lips together, which Bella knew was to suppress his amusement in front of the monster that was her mother.

"Jordan, could you -"

"Fucksake, Renee. I'm sure he's heard worse from you than anything you're going to say."

"Isabella." Every syllable of her given name screamed reproach. Even Bella's facial muscles protested at being called that. She'd never liked it, because she thought it was too uppity.

"It's Bella. What, does adding Isa- in front of my name make me sound as classy as you think you are?"

"That's enough! Jordan -"

"I'll – uh – " he gestured vaguely toward Carlisle and Esme's tastefully landscaped garden and wandered away.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked, warily rubbing at her forehead, already regretting coming out here in the first place.

"Why haven't you been returning my calls?" Renee completely side-stepped her question.

"I don't have anything say to you."

"Well, you seem to have a lot to say about the company I keep. What about yours?" Renee looked at the house meaningfully.

"What about it?" Bella cut to the chase, not wanting to prolong this pointless conversation.

"I told you he wasn't good for you and look at you now, going around flaunting your sexual exploits -"

Bella snorted loudly and rather obnoxiously, and to her delight, Renee looked like she'd just licked a lemon.

"I would explain it to you, but I really don't want to waste my breath over someone whose opinion means dick to me."

"Isabella, that man is leeching off of you and you can't even see it."

"Even if he is – which he's _not_ – he's been more of a parent to me than my actual goddamn parents. So yeah, even if he is, he's more than earned it."

"I heard about the shop. He -"

"Oh my god, you have a nose on you, woman. All those reconstructive surgeries haven't helped to keep it out of where it doesn't belong, has it?" Bella lost her cool. Then she took a deep breath and continued, "While I won't ever justify my actions to you, you're accusing Mac of taking advantage of me and that shit just doesn't fly with me. The shop was my dream. I paid the money, but he made it possible. He wanted me to have complete ownership but I insisted on us being 50/50 partners. HE'S NOT LEECHING OFF OF ME."

Renee was rendered dumb by Bella's rant. Good thing she didn't say anything because Bella was just about ready to cut a fucker.

"I've never given him a single dime for the place he's given me in his home." Bella said, softly. "It's been six years, Renee. He's never asked for anything from me. He doesn't have any expectations – unlike you, who have a litany of expectations from me ranging from how I dress to how I talk."

Bella took a few steps in Renee's direction and reveled in the look of terror on her face.

"He and Chris are the only family I have. I don't give a fuck what you say about me, but if you say another word about Mac," she shook her head, then said in a menacing tone, "your nose wouldn't be the only thing that would need to be altered."

"Are you threatening me?" Renee raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"It's not a threat if you plan on following through." Bella said, never taking her eyes off hers.

"Oh, you're just like your father, reducing to threats when things don't go your way."

Bella eyes hardened and she said through gritted teeth, "I'm _nothing_ like him."

Renee's eyes shone triumphantly, "He told me to tell you how disappointed he was in you."

"That's a bit rich coming from him." Bella snorted. "Now get out of my face or else tomorrow's headlines might say, 'Doctors can't redo Renee Swan's face after _Wild Swan_ broke it'."

"Oh you little -"

"Jordan!" Bella called out, "Take her back to Tinseltown before I do something I'll regret. Although, I'm sure I can pay off the penalty for assault. Wait, it's sounding more and more appealing by the second."

Renee let out a frustrated huff as she sat in the car and closed the door loudly. Bella sighed, relieved as she saw the driver running toward the car.

"How's it goin', Bella?" he asked as he moved around the car to get into the driver's seat.

"Oh, just fucking peachy!"

.

Esme Cullen was a little worried about what she was seeing.

It had been a long while since her husband had come in with the big burly man, who'd introduced himself as "Emmett", and they'd both been entertaining each other with car stories. She'd heard her fair share of those in the nearly three decades she'd been married to Carlisle, and she had no interest in them, whatsoever. So when the topic moved to machinery among the car enthusiasts, she politely excused herself in to the haven of her kitchen.

Now standing at the sink, she was witnessing quite a peculiar spectacle and she was getting increasingly worried about the welfare of the girl in her garden.

"Carlisle. Emmett." She called out to the gentlemen, who were happily chatting away about horsepower and carbo-somethings.

"What is it, Esme?" her husband's eyes looked a little worried and he was further alarmed when he saw the anxious look on his wife's face.

"It's just -" she gestured toward the window, where Bella was alternately punching the air with all her might and pacing, all the while screaming obscenities that were making sweet Esme blush. "Is she alright?" she questioned Emmett.

"Did she punch a tree again?" Emmett asked as he came forward to take a look out the window.

"She punched a _tree?"_ Esme asked, horrified.

"She did. Broke her hand on it, too."

"Why would she do that?" Esme was all unassuming concern.

"Blowing off steam." Emmett shrugged nonchalantly, "The thing about Bella is she can't pretend to smile when she's downright pissed. And punching seems to help."

"Oh. Is she- I mean will she be fine?"

"Will who be fine? Hello Esme."

They all turned in tandem to see Bella, whose hair was pulled into a hasty bun after her recent physical exertion had turned it into a chaos. Esme took it all in stride and moved forward to catch the younger woman in a gentle hug. Though Bella had never been much of a hugger, this embrace felt so tender and loving that she couldn't help squeezing her back to show her appreciation.

"So what's for dinner? I hope it's ready, because my stomach is about to fucking eat itself."

.

Over a wide variety of mouthwatering dishes, Esme grilled Bella about her business, her favorite colors, food, and practically everything under the sun. Carlisle chimed in a few times, but Mac was way too busy stuffing his face to save Bella from the seemingly innocent, getting-to-know-you interrogation.

"So, what are your plans for the future?"

"Mac and I are thinking about expanding the business once I'm out of school. I think we'll open a body shop for antique cars. We've always wanted to do that."

"Well, that's very ambitious of you." Esme smiled genuinely but she was a tad disappointed that Bella is only focused on her business and not her personal life. "I was wondering about – um – you know, your plans of_ settling down_."

"Excuse me?" Bella gawked at Esme, her fork full of Chicken Tikka Masala froze mid-air.

"She means getting married. Having babies. That kind of thing, B. This meat is delicious, Esme." Mac surfaced, before diving back enthusiastically into his Beef Wellington. Bella snorted as Esme thanked Mac before looking expectantly at her.

"I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not exactly the motherly type, Esme. And if settling down means getting a stable life, then I'm all set. I'll just kill Mac and take over his property," she said seriously.

Mac laughed, showering the table with chewed food bits. It was a grotesque sight.

"Ugh, gross Mac."

Mac started to cough and Bella thumped him soundly on the back to dislodge whatever got stuck going down his esophagus. He apologized to Esme after he'd chugged two glasses of water and cleared his throat. Esme, being the gracious hostess that she was, just waved him off.

"Come Bella, I'll give you a tour of our humble abode." She insisted after they'd both cleared the table.

They set out to explore the mansion, each armed with a glass of champagne. Humble was not the word Bella would use for the tastefully decorated Cullen house, but it was, admittedly, rather understated in a classy way. It was all beiges and creams and white, with a hint of other soft colors, unique for each room.

When Esme opened the polished door to the next room, Bella wasn't expecting it to be filled with musical instruments. There was a huge black grand piano right in the center of the room, commanding the attention of the occupants, and the sidewall was covered with a wide assortment of guitars hung on hooks, ready to be strummed at.

"I _knew_ it. I knew Carlisle was in a boy band. What was it called? Geeky Mechanics?" Bella joked.

Esme made a very unladylike sound, surprising the hell out of Bella.

"Carlisle doesn't know how to play twinkle twinkle. God knows, I tried to get him to learn. This," she stroked the surface of the piano lovingly, "belongs to my son. As do the guitars."

"Oh, yeah, your son. What's his name again?" Bella racked her brain, trying to come up with the name of their offspring. Edwin? Edgar?

"It's Edward." Esme said and she picked up a frame standing on the piano to show Bella.

"But that's..." her eyes widened as realization sunk in, "Ed Cullen."

"You know him?" If Bella wasn't so blindsided by this recent revelation, she would've noticed the unholy gleam in Esme's eyes. Edward's mother was beyond delighted that Bella knew Edward. Aside from the fact that she was a hopeless romantic, Esme also had a pretty strong gut instinct. And her gut told her that Bella and Edward were meant to be together. Her husband could be cynical about it. It was just who he was, and she wouldn't have him any other way, but she was sure he was wrong about them.

"_Cullen,"_ Bella murmured, shaking her head. "Man, I feel so stupid. I should've made the connection. The accent. The name."

"Where did you meet him?"

"He came to the shop. To buy my motorbike, of all things." Bella laughed, reminiscing and Esme was just about over the moon that they'd met even before she'd meddled, further solidifying her belief that they had to be together.

"That's great. He was supposed to be here today, you know."

Esme's annoyed tone snapped Bella out of her thoughts and she felt like a spotlight was trained on her with the way she was looking at her.

"I just remembered I have to talk to Carlisle about something."

"You do that, dear." Esme realized she was making the poor girl nervous with the wide grin on her face but she couldn't help it. Now all she had to do was push Edward to actually ask the girl out. Knowing her son, though, this might take a while.

.

"Why was Renee here?" Bella spoke up as soon as she saw Carlisle and Mac downstairs, standing in front of the mantel where the professor was showing him his collection of classic car figurines.

"She wants Esme to help her with a charity banquet she's putting together."

_Charity banquet. Figures._ Bella thought.

"Your wife is freaking me out, by the way. I think she's trying to set me up with your son – who I didn't know was a musical prodigy." Bella raised her eyebrow and Carlisle held his hands up innocently.

"It's all her idea. She thinks you and Edward are _meant to be together_." Carlisle's tone told her he didn't share his wife's views.

Bella rolled her eyes at the corny sentiment.

"Does she hate him or something?"

Mac and Carlisle both laughed at that, irritating the fuck out of Bella.

"Ok, I'm out of here, then. Far away from nosey parents."

"Hey," The handsome veteran protested, "It wasn't me. She's the one who cooks up all these crazy ideas in her head."

"Like you're not whacky yourself, old man." She heard the click of heels behind her and looked back to see Esme, who no longer looked at her like she was the answer to all her prayers.

"We should go. I've got a lot of homework." Then she gave Carlisle a meaningful look, "Banner."

"Ah." Carlisle nodded sympathetically.

"But you haven't even tried my chocolate truffles yet."

"You made chocolate truffles?" Mac was overjoyed.

"Your tongue's hanging out Mac." Bella shook her head, and then said as an explanation. "God, he's such a kid sometimes."

Esme smiled a little impishly, "Practice for future."

Bella blanched and Mac let out a huge belly laugh.

"And that's my cue to leave."

"But I haven't even had her truffle yet."

.

Later that night, Esme was giddy as she got into bed, where her husband was reading in the lamplight, like always. He was still as handsome to her as the first time she'd seen him. She'd been tongue-tied by his beauty and he'd babbled on about cars and machinery and God knows what. And she was sure that if it weren't for her persistent nature, they would never be where they are now. She took the glasses perched on his nose and set them on the bedside table before coming back and planting a smacking kiss on his lips.

"You're awfully chipper for one in the morning." Carlisle murmured as he discarded his book in favor of wrapping his arms around his wife. Esme simply moaned in response as she deepened the kiss.

"Wonder why that is?" he said between kisses and Esme pulled back and beamed at him.

"Oh Carlisle, she's just perfect for him, I just know she is."

"Don't bite your arm off just yet, love. Bella is a beautiful girl. Smart too. But there's just something about her. She's -" he hesitated, trying to find the right word for it.

"She's like you, that's what she is. Too cerebral. Always looking for gray areas," she lovingly kissed his eyebrow.

"Exactly. And Edward is like you. The exact opposite."

"Haven't you heard: opposites attract." Esme grinned triumphantly.

"Yeah, but at what cost?"

.

"Edward, this is Lauren Jensen from _The Rhythm_ magazine. We'll just have her crew set up here while she asks her questions. Then afterwards, you'll do the photoshoot. Sounds good?" Jasper said as he introduced the leggy blond to Edward.

Edward shook hands with her, "Nice to meet you."

"It's my pleasure," the woman smiled, her expression flirty.

"Okay then. Where do we start?" He sent a slightly panicky look at Jasper.

Jasper gestured toward the comfy looking couch on one side of the luxurious hotel room.

"Oh, yes. Let's be seated." Edward said as he led her forward.

Once they'd settled, and she'd set up her recorders and had her pen at the ready, she gave him a smile.

"Alright, so before we start, I have to tell you, I'm such a big fan. I simply loved every song on the album. But my favorite would have to be '_Take Me With You_'. It's so, so beautiful."

"Thanks. I'm glad you liked it." Edward said as he tugged at his hair. That was his least favorite song on the record but Jasper made him add it because he thought it would appeal to the female fans. Turns out, he was right.

"Do you write all your lyrics?"

"Yes, I do."

Lauren pursed her lips, a little miffed that he didn't expand on his answer, but she rallied on.

"How do you come up with the ideas? Where do you start?"

"That's a good question, and the honest answer is I don't know," they both laughed before he continued, "I can never force myself to do anything and I figure there's no point working on a song when your head isn't completely in it. When you do something creative, it's important that you're inspired. I write the second I feel inspired and then my brain is working faster than my hands and I get so frustrated because I can practically hear the song in my mind but my hand can't keep up."

"You write on paper?"

"Yeah. It takes a lot of time to fire up your laptop and I fear I'd lose the words by then. I carry this diary around everywhere I go." He reached his hand into his back pocket and retrieved a handy moleskine diary.

"Wow, can I look into it?"

"Sorry, I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing this. I've never shown it to anyone. It feels very personal."

"Right, that's alright. Can I take a picture of it?" Before he could answer she was hollering at her cameraman to snap a picture of the diary in Edward's hands.

After that was done, she went on, "So there's been a lot of talk about this watch you wear."

"What, this old thing?" he pushed up the sleeve of his gray button down to reveal a battered vintage Rolex.

"Yeah, what's the story behind that, because fans are always speculating on blogs and social networks. Apparently you're never without it."

"My grandfather gave this to my father when he turned eighteen and my father handed it down to me on my eighteenth birthday. It's like a family heirloom. Call me an old-fashioned guy, but this means a lot to me and I've never gone anywhere without it." Edward finished, lightly massaging his neck.

"That's sweet. Okay, moving on, I want to know what inspired you to write '_Threadbare_', because it's a song that sort of resonates with a lot of angsty teenagers."

And so it went. She questioned and Edward tried to come up with an answer that wouldn't make him sound like a tool.

"Did you expect '_Threadbare_' to be such a success?"

"Honestly, no. I didn't. I'd played a few gigs before and the audience response was always positive but I never really expected it to get this huge, this quickly. It's a little bizzare, I still can't wrap my head around it."

"How do you feel about the legions of female fans you seem to have gathered?"

"Wow. Yeah. About that." He scratched his head, trying to think about something witty to say but coming up blank, "I don't know, I've never been very popular with girls before."

"I find that hard to believe."

"No, really," Edward snorted, "I was always the quiet music nerd. So this – uh – female attention is definitely a recent development and I'm still trying to get used to it."

"Okay, everyone wants to know the answer to this, would you go out with a fan?"

That threw Edward off, although he should've been prepared for a question like this.

"I – um – I mean – I haven't really thought about that," he raked his hands through his hair, desperately trying to think of something deflective.

_Where the fuck is Jasper when you need him?_

What he didn't see was that Lauren was regarding him slyly and this was just the moment she'd been waiting for, to pull her claws out and attack.

"Well, _Bella Swan_ certainly doesn't look like someone who'd be willing to share."

Edward's head snapped up at Bella's name and he was sure he looked like a deer in headlights.

"Um, excuse me Ma'am. That's a bit intrusive. Edward is not comfortable talking about his personal life."

Jasper and Edward shared a loaded glance before they went back to the interview, though Edward's head was miles away. After they wrapped up and Lauren thanked them both profusely as she hugged him and practically rubbed her tits against his chest, Edward had had enough. As soon as the door clicked shut, he turned to Jasper.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Sorry man, I don't know how I missed it."

"Missed what?"

"Here," Jasper tapped at his iPad a few times before handing it over to him. Edward's eyes bulged out of their sockets when he saw the pictures. It was images of him and Bella from the post-concert fan meets. He could tell these were taken when she whispered those words into his ear, because he looked quite turned on with his eyes closed and his hand on her lower back. If he closed his eyes, he could still smell her and feel her pressed up against him, but right now, he was too freaked out to do that.

"Shit. What now? Do you think we should talk to her? Man, she's never going to want to see me anymore."

"Relax, Edward. It's going to be alright. But yeah, I think we should go talk to her and prep her for when someone asks her, because it's inevitable."

"Yeah. Okay." Edward nodded. This situation warranted the use of both his hands, so he pulled at his hair from both sides of his head. "Fuck. She's going to hate me."

"God, Edward. Quit being such a drama queen and think about what you're going to say to her." Jasper said as he pushed him toward the door.

"Right." _Easier said than done._

Inspiration struck suddenly and he stopped walking. "I think I know what I have to do."

.

"Wow, Metallica in the morning. What, is she PMSing?"

"Renee." Mac offered as an explanation.

"Ah." Chris nodded in understanding.

They both watched Bella as she bobbed her head along with the beat and yelled the lyrics, as she worked on the Porsche Turbo 911 engine. It really was a beautiful sight to behold and Mac was itching to get his hands on its steering wheel. Good thing the owner owed him a few favors, because he was ready to cash them in.

"I told her she should take up yoga."

"Bella and _yoga_? Yeah, that won't go over well, seeing as she has the patience of an angry dragon."

"But she needs something to calm her down."

"This is her thing. You and I both know it. She just needs to box it out, but apparently her boxing buddy is out of commission."

"Why? What happened to Jake?"

"I don't know. He probably pulled a muscle or something, the pussy."

"_Dad_," Chris chastised.

"What? You know I'm right. Besides, I think he's scared of Bella, especially when she's mad. I don't blame him, though. We've taught her well." He grinned, proud as a Papa Bear.

Just then, there was a clicking of an old engine behind him and they looked back to see a hideously ancient truck rumble toward their shop at snail pace. They both exchanged amused looks before the car coughed to a stop just a few steps away from where they were standing.

Two familiar looking men got out of it and the driver went around the back to open the tailgate. Then both of them hefted something out of the bed and Mac just about had a seizure when he saw what it was.

"_Holy. Shit._"

Chris was similarly spellbound, as he looked at the timeless piece of machinery in front of him. Although he wasn't as much of an engine-lover as his father and Bella, he could certainly appreciate a decent machine when he saw it.

"Um, hi." One of the guys said.

"Hey, Edward, right?" Chris asked, remembering his name from last time.

"Yeah. And this is Jasper." They shook hands and then Mac came forward to greet them as well, "I – um – we – is Bella here?"

Mac and Chris looked at each other before they turned to where Bella was huddled under the hood, singing along with Brian Johnson.

"_She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean,_

_She was the best damn woman I had ever seen,_

_She had these sightless eyes, telling me no lies,_

_Knocking me out with those American thighs._"

Edward was a little shell-shocked, not to mention enraptured by Bella, in that moment. She was shaking her narrow hips and nodding her head rhytmically. That, along with the tight little wife-beater and the cargo pants she was sporting would've been the demise of Edward Cullen if he hadn't been so nervous.

"_Yeah, you shook me all night long_."

Mac snorted and the guys' attention turned to him.

"I don't think it's a good idea. Bella-" he gestured to where she was singing her throat raw, "she's in rare mood, today. You don't want to cross her when she's like this."

"It's kind of important." Edward insisted as he roughly fondled his hair.

Mac contemplated, weighing the pros and cons. This Harley they'd brought was a sweet ride and Bella would never forgive him if she knew he'd turned customers away. Especially, since they'd brought her dream bike along.

"Fine, then. Don't say I didn't warn you, though."

Edward gulped, even more nervous than he was before. He proceeded cautiously, with Jasper pulling the bike behind him. He knew Bella loved bikes and he was hoping to get in her good graces before he broke the news about the tabloid. Something told him she wouldn't take it well.

"_Working double time on the seduction line._"

"_She was one of a kind, she's just mine, all mine._" Edward couldn't help jumping in.

He thought she'd be surprised or even embarrassed at being caught singing but she merely smirked and shot up a challenging eyebrow as she missed one verse but delivered the next.

"Made a meal out of me, and come back for more."

They went back and forth in a similar manner until the end of the song and then Bella moved forward to push the stop button on her iPod.

"Hiya, bike thief."

Edward groaned and Bella sniggered.

"_Fuck. Me. Stupid._ Is that – Oh my God – wait – how, where, HOW?" Bella sputtered nonsensically as Jasper came into the shop, dragging the Harley in.

Edward laughed, feeling strangely pleased at getting such a reaction out of her. He'd impressed Bella Swan. Okay, it wasn't him, but his choice. Fine, it wasn't his choice either. It was his dad's, but still, he'd come up with the idea.

"Woah, that's _The_ fucking _Forty-Eight_," she said as she kneeled before it and hovered her hand over it, never completely touching it. "Man, if I die today, I won't have any complaints."

Edward and Jasper smirked as they looked at each other and then at the girl who was practically worshipping the bike with her hands.

"Where did you get it?"

"Craigslist."

That seemed to get her out of her Harley-induced haze and her head whipped around to look at him incredulously.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I most certainly am not."

She shook her head, "You're a piece of work, man."

Jasper laughed and Edward shot him a deadly look.

"So, how can I help you, gentlemen?"

"I want – I mean – could you -"

"Is he having a stroke?" Bella asked Jasper, feigning concern and then they both laughed at Edward's plight.

"Funny. Listen, will you -"

"No, I won't go out with you," Bella joked and then she and Jasper started cackling again.

"Alright, I give up," Edward threw his hands up and pouted like a four-year old who didn't get his way.

"Oh, please don't. It's fun mocking you." Bella chortled.

Edward huffed, but he was inwardly glad that Bella was no longer in her "rare mood".

"He wants you to pretty up this bike for him." Jasper said having pity on his friend.

"Pretty up? PRETTY UP? What does he want me to paint it pink and put a flower basket in front of it?"

"What – No – I – "

Bella started to laugh and Edward followed suit, happy that he wasn't the only one nervous around her, for once.

"I was just fucking with you, man. But seriously, pretty up? Don't insult it in front of me again or you're really going to get it."

"Jeez, you can be scary." Jasper complained.

"Thanks." She deadpanned. Then she turned to Edward, "I'd love to work on it. I'm happy you brought it here. You made my day, man. Maybe even my week."

Edward beamed like an idiot, but he couldn't control his ridiculous smile if he tried.

"Thanks. I was counting on you saying that."

Then Bella sat down on the ground as she picked up a screw driver and started fiddling with the engine, "I'll let you know the cost estimate later. I'm guessing money is not an issue?"

"Oh, no. It isn't. Not really. I mean -" He stopped when he saw Bella's raised eyebrow. "What?"

"It was a rhetorical question."

Jasper laughed silently in the corner and Edward threw him a dirty look, before looking at Bella. She'd already turned her full focus to the bike. He looked at Jasper again, hoping that he'd bring the subject up, but Jasper seemed to be having a lot of fun at his expense. He glared at him but his friend didn't seem like he'd give in so he sighed and prepared to be thrown out of the workshop.

"Er, Bella."

"Hmm?" she said distractedly.

"There's a tiny problem."

"What's that? Don't put a time frame on this job or else I'll kick your skinny British ass."

"How d'you know I'm British?"

Jasper snorted as Bella looked at Edward with surprised eyes. She addressed Jasper, "Is he for real?"

"Oh boy. Fine. I'll do it." Jasper said as he gave Edward a you'll-owe-me-for-this look, "Someone at the concert snapped your picture. You guys look – well – _intimate_, for lack of a better word."

That seemed to grab Bella's attention, "What?"

Jasper showed her the same picture he'd shown Edward yesterday, and then they both waited with baited breath as Bella looked at the picture for a long time.

"This is so fucking _hot_!"

.

**AN: Thanks for reading, you guys. Your reviews make my day! I've uploaded this new story and if you fancy angst, check it out.**


	8. Hate Mails and Fantastic Kisses

**PoeticBrunette puts up with me and my mood swings. She'd awesome like that.**

**.**

**Chapter 7 - Hate Mails and Fantastic Kisses**

_**ED CULLEN OPENS UP ABOUT HIS LIFE, HIS MUSIC AND.. BELLA SWAN?**_

_The twenty-four year old – who has captured hearts all over the world with his soulful voice, poignant lyrics and dazzling smile – has been sitting down for interviews, singing on radio and talk shows to promote his first album, _'Threadbare'_ and as it turns out, there is still a lot we don't know when it comes to this young man._

_Every song on Ed Cullen's album is transcendent, unparalleled – almost a genre on its own. His music incorporates the individuality of Zeppelin, a rare conglomeration of folksy rock, faint strains of blues along with an occasional dash of emo, just for taste! His rise to success has been nothing short of phenomenal, seeing as this is just his first album and it has already sold almost two million copies worldwide in the two months that it's been in the stores. There's also been a buzz about him being nominated for the Grammys this year. _

_While countless girls scream for Ed when he strums his guitar, sings or just walks in the same room as them and would pretty much give anything to be with him, it seems that their hopes will be dashed. Recently, he was seen cuddling with his rumored love interest Bella Swan, and let me tell you ladies that if this picture is any indication, his heart may already have been given away. I mean just look at the way he has his arm around her and how she has her head tucked into his neck. It looks familiar – at home. _

_A reliable source told **The Gossip Mill** that when asked outright about Bella Swan, the singer shied away from dishing out and looked for his manager to help him out of that particular tight corner._

_Swan - who is known for stringing men along and has also shown an inclination for having multiple partners - doesn't seem like The One for our humble Ed. His representatives remain tight-lipped over this, unfortunately, neither confirming nor denying the existence of such a relationship. Speculations are running rampant – some say it's a fling, or maybe just a one-night stand. But what all the fan girls vying for the attention of the musical heartthrob unanimously agree, is that Ed is "way too good" for her. _

_What do you think, ladies? Do share in the comment box, below._

_Subscribe to **The Gossip Mill** to get regular updates on all the latest celebrity gossip._

_._

Tears streamed down her face as her body quaked with silent laughter.

"Oh my God," she managed to choke, "I'm gonna die."

Edward observed Bella, smiling because she just looked so adorable literally rolling on the floor, clutching her stomach as she tried to catch a breath between her snickers. Grease had transferred from her hands onto her dark gray shirt and cut off jean-shorts. There were even a few streaks in her wayward hair.

"Oh boy," she said as she began to regulate her inhales and exhales.

It had been a few weeks since Bella had not only _not_ flown off the handle over the tabloid picture, instead she'd surprised both him and Jasper by shrugging it off and actually liking it, claiming it was "_fucking hot_". All that worrying over her reaction and turns out, she's completely nonchalant about it. He never could tell what she would say or do next. He might have a better shot at predicting weather than he would at solving the enigma that was Bella Swan.

Though the timing of his bike purchase was pushed up in his now-irrational fear of her reaction, he was glad he did it when he had. It had given him an alibi to talk to Bella and have her number and call on her, just to "check on the progress".

It had given him an opportunity to see her, hang out with her and get to know her, like he'd wanted to from the first time she'd cursed at him. He'd learnt that Bella Swan, apart from being exotically beautiful, was also exceptionally smart. She was going to an engineering school and she knew automobiles inside out. She was extremely confident, almost cocky, at times. It was sexy as hell.

She loved music, almost as much as he did, but not quite. She could tell the next verse of pretty much any song he could come up with, but she could hardly remember the band names, mixing up Beatles and The Stones. She loved to sing out loud, whether the actual song was in her head or playing out loud and she sang really well.

He learned other things, too – things that you see when you interact with people. Like how she was always playful with Emmett and Chris, but he also saw the respect and love in her eyes. He saw how she never talked down on the guys who basically worked for her, since she was part owner of the workshop. He saw that even though she was always cracking jokes or laughing at this or that, her eyes were guarded.

He also saw when she would bend over to pick a tool and her shirt would ride up, giving him a view of her perfect creamy skin. He saw how she would suck on her bottom lip, frequently swiping her tongue over it, when she got really into working on the engines. That had to be his favorite visual and he would wank off to it and afterward feel like a terrible pervert. He'd do it again, anyway, because she just had that kind of an effect on him.

"Hey Worker B, where's the–" Emmett's voice roused him from his errant fantasy, "oh hi, _mate._ Didn't see you coming in."

Emmett was an extremely jovial person, who Edward had come to know in his limited time hanging out with Bella. He loved to brush up on his "Queen's English" and always grilled Edward about the colloquialisms, which, according to Chris, he spent hours Googling since after he'd met Carlisle. Apparently, Carlisle knew both him and Bella. _Small world._

Edward waved at him from where he was sitting on a gigantic tire.

Mac looked at Bella, who was still lying on the floor, a little more composed now. She was wiping tears of mirth off her cheeks and replacing them with streaks of engine oil. She looked so positively ruffled, it made Edward smile.

"What happened to her?"

"Mac," Bella started chuckling again, "you have to hear this."

She picked up a discarded piece of paper off the floor and straightened it while chortling. Then she cleared her throat dramatically and looked up at the two men.

"_Listen, you bitch,_" she read with a mock sneer on her face. "_You've already made your parents' life miserable and now you want to ruin Ed Cullen, too._"

Mac snorted, as Bella took a break to snigger, "Dramatic much?"

"_I'm almost hundred percent sure that he would never_," she emphasized the _never_ with a raised voice and a stern look in her eyes, "_be with a famewhore like you, but you should stay away from him. He is awesome and talented. He has a bright future and he doesn't want someone like you dragging him down. He's far too good for you. If_ –oh my god– " she burst into peals of laughter again.

Mac was chuckling but Edward wasn't amused by the words. He didn't like that someone had sent Bella hate mail. He felt like he should defend her to this stranger, who had no right judging her. Or him. Or what she meant to him.

"Mac, this is the best part." she valiantly cleared her face off the humor, "_If you don't lay off of him I will hunt you down and_ -"

Mac and Bella cracked up and this time, Edward did too, because he knew Bella could hold her own in a fight and this crazy stranger didn't stand a chance.

"_You'll be sorry you ever went after him_." she read and then threw the paper as her hands returned to her shaking stomach.

"Where the fuck did you get that?" Mac asked, left-over amusement still on his face.

"A _pussy_ in Jake's class handed it to him with my name on it," Bella shook her head, her cheeks flushed with laughter. "He gave me shit about finally hanging out with girls and passing notes."

"What'd you say to her?"

"I didn't."

"Maybe you should tell her it's too late because you're already pregnant with his child." Mac suggested with a straight face.

Edward coughed, his ears turning red with embarrassment, but Bella didn't even bat a lash.

"I think it's high time you and Edward made your relationship public. Your bump is already showing, man." She said as she tapped on Mac's solid abs.

Mac guffawed.

"I'm so sorry. I feel bad that you're being sent these crazy mails because of me."

Mac and Bella simultaneously swiveled their heads in his direction, the same comical look of disbelief on their faces.

"Who worries about spam, man? You just filter it out and occasionally read the enlarge-your-penis ones for shits and giggles." She tried to reassure Edward as he worried his hair. Emmett chortled but Edward showed no signs of being comforted.

He couldn't articulate how he felt about that, but it definitely wasn't better. Why would people say nasty things to her? He frowned, unable to fathom how people could be so hateful for no good reason.

"Hey," Bella gently nudged his ribs with her elbow, "it's alright. Really. I won't go to the toilet and cry a river over this. I've heard worse and I don't care what strangers think of me. Neither should you."

He stared into her beautiful brown eyes and got a little lost in their depth. He reached out for her hand and stroked the soft skin gently with his thumb. They both stared into each other's eyes, shocked at the unexpectedly powerful effect of the light touch. Mac spoke up and the moment ended, as did the contact. Bella immediately looked away, chewing on her lip.

"Shit, I forgot what I was here for. But I do remember that it was something pretty damn important." He slapped his forehead.

Mac muttered on, but Bella couldn't focus on a word he was saying. Her heart was thudding noticeably loudly and her face felt hot. She didn't like the feeling and neither did she understand what was going on with her.

.

When Jasper started texting him like a madman, Edward reluctantly said goodbye to Bella, already making plans for coming back. He'd felt something with her tonight. He felt her. Behind her shields. And he couldn't wait to experience that again.

"Yo, Ed." Emmett called out from his office, causing Edward to stop at the door, "Come on in, mate."

"This is nice." Edward commented as he took in the room, covered in all kinds of car posters along with various weird-looking parts displayed on a table by the side. It was pretty cool.

"Thanks. Would you like a drink? Water? Beer?"

"No, thanks. I was just heading out."

Emmett regarded the young man before him. He was certainly good-looking and seemed like a stand-up guy. Apparently, he was some hotshot singer, too. He was an awkward kid but he seemed to have his head straight and his heart in the right place. What caught his attention, though, was the fact that Edward was interested in Bella. He could see it in his eyes, when he looked at her and his stance, when he was near her.

Over the years, many have tried to gain Bella's affections, but no one has been successful in lowering her defenses. He saw something tonight, though. A vulnerability in Bella's eyes, that he hadn't seen since she was just a curious little child. And while he was pleased beyond words at this development, he was also concerned about it.

"Listen, Edward."

This was the first time Emmett had called him anything other than _mate, Ed_ or some other ridiculous nickname, so Edward was immediately wary of what was coming next.

"From what I can see, you're an alright guy. And I'm a very good judge of character. I can also see that you – shall we say – _fancy_ Bella." Emmett snorted at his own word choice.

Edward's eyes widened and Emmett chuckled. "If you're trying to hide it, you're not doing a very good job. Anyone with eyes can see it. And I'm not going to tell you what to do or what not do because this is between Bella and you, and I have no say in it, whatsoever.

"And I'm not going to do the intention-inquisition because Bella can kick your ass if you're out of line." His face turned thoughtful then, "But I'm going to tell you something and I want you to keep this between the two of us."

When Edward nodded, he continued, "Bella's parents cocked her up."

Edward snorted and Emmett asked, "What, don't they say it like that in your town?"

"They – um – sure, Emmett. Carry on, please." He said, amused by Emmett's insistence for using British slang.

"I won't go into the gory details, but she's been hurt, Edward. Her mother has never been around, much and she and her father don't see eye to eye on certain things. Bella values trust above all else and she has beliefs. Strong ones. Deeply ingrained ones." Emmett shook his head, at a loss of how to explain the way Bella works.

"You have to understand that Bella is such a strong-willed person. She's stubborn to a fault, really. She's a creature of habit. She takes time adapting. Oh boy, I sound like a fucking greeting card! Hallmark, here I come." He threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

"What Dad's trying to say is," Chris entered the room, having heard enough to pick up the context, "Bella is emotionally unavailable. You have to stand up to her, to get through to her, but no one's had the guts to do so. She likes to be independent. She's convinced she doesn't need a – er – _partner_ to be there for her. She thinks love makes you weak. And it does, in some ways, but that's a discussion for another time."

Emmett interjected, "If you really want to be with her, you'll have to be patient with her. You'll have to convince her against her beliefs. It's going to be an uphill battle, kid."

"I – um – thank you." Edward said, as he absorbed all this valuable information about Bella. He stood up and walked to the door. As a sudden thought struck, he turned and said to Bella's protectors, "Just so you know, I've got a lot of patience."

Mac smiled and Chris hoped for Bella's sake that was true. They both wanted someone for Bella who could stand up to her, to make her see that she was wrong about love. But she intimidated guys, so the most they would do was approach her and she'd shoo them away like stray dogs, laughing about it later on. Emmett used to worry that people would use her to get their fifteen seconds of fame but Bella had thus far stayed away from clowns like that.

She put on a tough front but underneath this protective shell, she was fragile. She needed someone to chip away at her armor gently. Someone who could anchor her, like no one ever had. They hoped Edward was that guy.

.

Bella had given up on the transmission she'd been working on because she couldn't concentrate. Now she was doing the mundane task of dismantling the tires off a Ferrari. She wasn't focused on what she was doing, at all. She was off in her own world.

She was thinking about Edward and how he'd been coming around to hang out. He was a nice guy. Funny, too. He reminded her of Carlisle, with his easy smiles. But there was something about the way he looked at her. It made her insides floppy for no good reason. She wasn't sure whether she liked it or not. Her mind and her body were at odds. While her mind rang alarms, warning her to step back, her body told her she wanted it. _Him._ It had been a long time since her hoohaa had seen any real action.

_Maybe she thinks he's her only chance, which is why she wants to latch on to his – yeah, that._

She wouldn't have thought twice about going at it with him, but he was a good guy. And he looked like he was more into her than she was into him. She genuinely liked the guy but continuing this way would only lead him on and he'd end up getting hurt. She'd have to let him down gently.

_Damn._

The distinct click of heels on concrete caught her attention and she looked up to see Miss Rose looking… well, she looked absolutely _sizzling._ She was wearing a low cut black dress with sheer sleeves and strappy Louboutins. It should've looked outrageous, but she pulled it off flawlessly. She saw Bella gawking at her and sent a wink her way. Bella wolf-whistled and Miss Rose took a bow.

"McCarty," she shouted then.

Mac came out, his mouth open to deliver some witty remark, Bella was sure. But as soon as his eyes took in Miss Rose, his mouth went slack and his eyes bugged out to cartoonish proportions. Bella snickered, thinking anytime now his tongue would be hanging out and he'd start circling around Miss Rose, growling and doing whatever dogs do to stake their claim.

"You and me, at 5. Pick me up in your best muscle car."

"I – uh –" Mac stuttered but Miss Rose didn't give him a chance. She went to him and whispered close to his ear. By the look on Mac's face, Bella could imagine it was something very naughty.

_Way to go, Miss Rose._

She snickered as Miss Rose swaggered her way back to her car with Mac ogling on like it was his job.

.

"Do I look alright, B?" Mac asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

He looked quite handsome in his light gray suit, which sort of highlighted the gray in his hair.

"You look debonair, Mac." Bella drawled.

"Are you sure I have the tie on straight?"

"Oh God. Enough with the freak out, _Emma_. Do you need tampons, now? Just go, it's almost five."

"Shit. I better be there on time or Rosie'll kill me."

"Go," she pushed him toward his 1968 Dodge Challenger. It was his baby. His favorite of all his cars and he felt it was the most masculine, too.

The idea was that Miss Rose would tell him an address and take him to her cousin's place, where she'll pick up her kittens for babysitting and bring them back to her home. Mac would think this was a date when it obviously wasn't and he would hate to have kittens in his manmobile. Miss Rose thought it would be awesome if she took pictures of them in his car. Bella could already see Mac crying over the emasculation of his muscle car.

_They might even leave cat fur all over his leather upholstery,_ Bella thought evilly.

Mac was taking this too seriously, though and she was second guessing her prank idea. She didn't want to hurt him.

"Do you think -" Mac stuck his head out of the window.

"Go. It's five."

"Fuck." He revved the engine and was out of there in a gust of smoke.

.

Bella was waiting on Mac to return. He was going to be so mad at her, she thought as she turned the keys in the ignition of a 1970 Mustang Mach 1. The engine roared and then sputtered, before coming to a stop.

"That's a sweet ride."

She smiled involuntarily. It was Edward.

"What, does this belong to your Grandpa?" He teased.

"Hey, don't hate on the classics. Did Carlisle teach you nothing?" She clucked her tongue.

"I wasn't a patient learner." He shrugged, raking a hand through his hair.

She was a little mesmerized by this habit of his. For some unfathomable reason, she loved it when he played with his hair. It was a beautiful shade of golden-brown, with a hint of red. She was sure it was silky to the touch. When she lowered her eyes to his, he held her eyes for a beat longer than normal. Her insides felt funny and she hastily exited the car and popped the hood. Anything to get away from this weird feeling.

"What's wrong with it?" Edward asked, intrigued.

"Needs a new battery, for one." Bella said with her head behind the hood of the car.

Edward moved forward to take a better look at it himself, not that he knew very much about cars. He was fascinated by all the stuff that Bella knew and could do.

"How did you get into cars? I mean, why automobiles? Why not something else?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, you could've been a singer."

"Hardy har har."

"No, really. You could. I've heard you sing."

"Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should do it for a living. I love my job. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"True. But why mechanics?"

"I don't know, man. It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Really, Mr. Grammy Nominee?"

Edward groaned, feigning annoyance, but really, he was thrilled that she knew about that, though it was just a rumor. It felt gratifying.

"Ok, ok, Jeez. So, when I was, I don't know, ten maybe, I went to a movie set, just to watch. I saw a man doing these crazy stunts with a motorbike. It was so awesome. He pulled a few wheelies and then ended with a burnout. I was starstruck. As soon as he came to talk to my-" she stopped there with a frown, then went on, "Anyways, I went to him and told him how cool I thought that was and then asked him if he would teach me how to do that."

"Wow, what did he say?"

Bella smiled at that, "He said, 'Sure, kid. Soon as your feet can touch the ground on a bike.'"

"Really?" He was surprised, because who would say that to a kid. A girl, no less. Not that he'd voice these doubts to Bella. He didn't want to get his arse handed to him.

"Totally. And he became my best friend."

"Wait, you're talking about -"

"Mac, yeah." She beamed, her admiration for the old man clear as day.

Edward smiled too, because that was all he could do when she was happy. She looked radiant, her eyes unfocused, as she reminisced about her first meeting with Emmett.

When her eyes returned to Edward, he was looking at her with the same intense look on his face that simultaneously lit her body on fire and made her uncomfortable.

"Um, Edward," she went back to the hood of the car for something to do with her hands. "I – uh -"

His brows furrowed, never having seen Bella lost for words. "What is it, Bella? You can say it."

She chewed on her lip for a moment, before she took a deep breath, "Listen, Edward. You're a great guy. I love hanging out with you."

She paused, not knowing how to proceed. She'd never let anyone down easy. She either fucked them or told them to fuck off. Simple as that. This was foreign territory where she was worried about hurting someone's feelings.

"This might sound conceited, but if I'm not reading you wrong, I think you like me." She looked into his soft green eyes that were sincere and seemed to be agreeing with her assessment. She blinked and started fiddling with the wires sprouting out of the engine. Her insides churned unpleasantly. She felt out of sorts, which was a first for her.

"Here's the thing. I'm not a relationship girl, Edward. With relationships come expectations and I don't do expectations. I don't expect anything from anyone and in return, no one expects anything from me. I like it that way. Lesser chances of disappointment."

His expression didn't waver. He was completely stoic. It unnerved her when he didn't say anything, so she started babbling, hating the awkward silence, "I can't trust anyone with my heart. I just can't. I don't want to end up broken. If that makes me a coward, I don't care. I'd rather be a coward than pathetically in love with someone."

She was getting a little agitated, "It makes you weak. It puts someone else in control of your emotions and I can't have that." Her chin jutted out stubbornly, "I _won't._"

This time when she looked at him, he'd moved much closer to her. He looked determined and his eyes – she noticed as her insides flipped – were focused on her lips. Before she knew what was happening, he buried his hand in her hair and pressed his lips against hers. Her heart just about stopped, before it started thumping double-time. He groaned when she began to move her lips in tandem.

It felt like he put everything into the kiss. His tongue invaded her mouth, making every part of her body tingle. She shivered as he placed his hand under the hem of her shirt, pushing it up so he could stroke the small of her back. Feeling a little light-headed, she placed a hand over his surprisingly muscular shoulder, gripping him firmly. He responded by tightening his grip in her hair, coaxing a moan out of her.

He continued his ardent assault, his soft lips, pliant yet unyielding. She could feel it in her very bones. It was intense. It was too much for her. It took everything in her to push him away, but push away, she did.

"I think I should go," she said breathily, her eyes still closed.

Edward looked at her red, just-kissed lips that he'd been devouring moments ago and if his heart wasn't on the verge of breaking at her rebuttal, he would've laughed at her endearing confusion. As it was, he knew he needed to step back. Both literally and figuratively. He recognized that it was too much for her and he needed to give her space.

Emmett's words echoed in his head, "Be patient with her." So, although it pained him to do so, he got his unwilling limbs to somehow cooperate. His hands relaxed his hold on her as he stepped away.

"I'll go," he said softly, as he took in her flushed face and pulled at his hair. Her eyes were wild, something torrential brewing behind them.

He couldn't leave it at that, though, "I figured you told me where you stand, it's only fair you knew how I felt."

He smirked because he couldn't help it. He was smug. She'd kissed him back, after all.

"This might sound a bit conceited, but if I'm not reading you wrong, I think _you_ like me too."

With that, he turned and walked away. She thought that's what she'd wanted but now that he was gone, she had this unpleasant emptiness in the pit of her stomach that hadn't been there before.

.

**AN: What's the verdict?**

**I've had this written since Saturday but I didn't feel like posting it. Something's missing but I can't put my finger on it. Care to point it out? For those who wanted me to add something about her parents, I'm sorry you guys. I tried. I really did, but Bella isn't being forthcoming. I'll try to get her to cooperate. **

**By the way, this is my first _fictional_ kiss. Did I pass? I don't wanna know if I didn't! ;)**

**P.S. Someone asked if I had an updating schedule. Sadly, I don't. I try to update within a week, give or take a few days. I've got a lot on my plate, though, so I'm not entirely sure when the next update will be. I'll try to keep it within ten days, though. PM me if you've got a question, cause I can't answer you if you're a guest. **

**That's an awfully long AN. Sorry about that. Thanks for reading, chicas.**


	9. Unexpected Guests and Profound BS

**Not beta'd. You have been warned.**

**.**

**Chapter 8 – Unexpected Guests and Profound BS**

Edward was too keyed up to sit still. He'd been wearing a hole in his living room carpet with all the pacing that he'd been doing for the past hour. He'd done what he'd done. He'd kissed her and he wouldn't regret it. He _couldn't._ But that didn't mean he wasn't anxious about the choice he'd made.

He could still see her face after she'd pushed him away. The cloud of confusion and doubt in her beautiful brown eyes. The wrinkle between her brows. The downward curve of her pink lips. He couldn't tell if she was merely resisting or wholly rejecting him.

_How does she feel about me? Does she hate me now? Will she ever want to see me again? _

He ran an anxious hand through his hair. Emmett had told him to be patient with her. Had he ruined his chances by acting too quickly? But she'd kissed him back, hadn't she?

_Yeah, right before she pulled back._

"Aaargh," he let out a frustrated snarl, his thoughts too chaotic to process.

He slumped on his couch and picked up the guitar that was lazing against it. It was his first and most beloved guitar. He'd saved up like crazy for her. It was a second-hand Les Paul he'd gotten at a rare garage sale, back when he still lived in England. He'd named her _Gina_ after the pretty blond classmate he'd had a crush on. He'd never acted on it, but the name stuck. Good thing he never doodled the name on the guitar; it was just in his head. Having to explain that would've been awkward.

He pulled _Gina_ onto his lap and retrieved a pick from the table top. As he closed his eyes and began to strum, words started to seep into his mind, unbidden. He could hear the song that he hadn't even written yet. He immediately fished out the moleskine diary from the back pocket of his jeans. He didn't have a pen, though.

"Pen, pen, pen, pen." He sang as he started the hunt. In his jacket, unceremoniously thrown on the table. On the table. In his room. Did he even have a pen?

He cursed as he rummaged through his drawer, haphazardly throwing things over his shoulder trying to find a single pen. _Nada._

He shook the drawer in complete exasperation, and _voila._ He found one. He ran back to where his diary lay open on his living room table but a knock on his door froze him.

_Could it be her?_

He dismissed that wishful notion as quickly as it had popped into his head. Shaking his head, he made his way toward the door when the person on the other side of the door – assumingly feeling neglected – started raining incessant raps on it.

"Ed? Open up, man."

"Jesus, Jasper. Is your arse on fire?" Jasper pushed his way in as soon as the lock clicked open and made a beeline for the guest bedroom, completely ignoring Edward. Edward stood there wondering what just happened but the tune in his head made it too difficult to focus on much else. He had to get it down.

_Right now._

It was a visceral impulse. The music in his mind was like a siren call. He couldn't wait to realize it. To put it down on paper. He had to hear it out loud. The natural instinct prompted his fingers to caress and pluck at the strings of his guitar. Music was the only language he'd never had any problem understanding. Even when words deluded him.

A whistle cut through his intense concentration, making him glare at the offender.

"What the fuck, J?"

Disregarding Edward completely, Jasper stealthily peeked at the open diary, curious to get his first glimpse at the terribly untidy script.

"I think you meant 'mirage' not 'marij'." He snickered, pointing out the mistake.

Edward slapped his hand on the diary, effectively concealing his written lyrics, getting a little hot around the ears. Spelling had never been his forte.

"Aw, don't be a killjoy. Let me read - more like _decipher_ the chicken scrawl. What, do you write with your feet?" Jasper, undeterred by Edward's mood, reached forward to try and steal the moleskine from him. Edward smacked his hand away and put the diary into his back pocket, which was its perpetual abode.

"Jasper, if you don't cut this clown act right now, I swear-"

"Ok. Ok. No more nosing." Jasper held his hands up, an indication of truce.

Edward snorted, not believing the innocent act for one moment. "What's up with you, man? You've been acting like a nutcase since the moment you stepped into my house. And what was the emergency that had you rushing to the guest room?"

"I had to use the toilet." Jasper shrugged.

"I realize my bathroom provides otherworldly amenities," Edward drawled, "but you didn't have to come all the way to my place to use a bidet? Or was it the cushioned toilet seat?" His eyes widened as a thought occurred to him, "Oh, god. Don't tell me you were beating off in there or something."

"What? No. Of course not." Jasper shouted, affronted. "I had to take a crap, man."

"Which brings us back to my original point," Edward cocked an eyebrow, "What are you doing here?"

Jasper flopped next to Edward on the couch suddenly, putting his boot-clad feet on the coffee table.

"My phone's been ringing non-stop," Seeing the questioning look in Edward's eyes, he helpfully added, "Press. Although, that's not the word I'd choose for those fuckers."

Edward rolled his eyes, "You know, you could screen your calls or just put the damn thing on silent mode-"

"Or we could get you a publicist. And a fucking social media manager person."

"Social media what?"

Jasper laughed through his nose, "Ed, you know this little blue bird and the big bad f-word, don't you? Well, your fans love that they get to interact with _you_ all the time." It wasn't him, of course. "As of this morning, you've got exactly sixty-nine thousand, five hundred and eighty-seven followers on Twitter and god-knows-how-many fans on Facebook. Those profiles don't update themselves, you know."

"I don't need a lecture on latest technology, dickhead. Fine, go hire me a publicist, though I highly doubt I need one."

"Trust me, Edward," Jasper smiled tolerantly, "You do."

"Ok. I mean, I guess, there's no harm. I can afford it." He scratched his forehead, "At least I think I can."

"You can. Your accountant assures me that the probability of your going broke anytime soon is as high as the possibility of Lady Gaga wearing something halfway normal. Which reminds me, we need to get you a stylist, too."

"Hey," Edward protested, sweeping a hand across his modest apparel, which consisted of a red plaid shirt and black jeans. "I can dress myself just fine."

"I imagine you've never picked out a tux?"

"Let's discuss prom later, J."

"Knowing you, I don't think you can tell Armani from Gucci."

"Well, they're both brands."

"Exactly," Jasper was smug, his point made.

"At least I don't wear those atrocious cowboy boots." Edward teased, "Now can I get back to the song?"

"I'll have you know those boots are extremely tasteful," Jasper feigned a snobbish tone, "There's a reason why I'm insisting on a stylist all of a sudden."

Edward let out an annoyed groan, "Jasper just get it off your fucking chest and let me concentrate on the song."

"Your nominations for the Grammy has been confirmed."

"Shit, really?"

"Best New Artist _and_ Best Rock Performance"

"Holy shit!"

"That's a lot of shit!"

Edward laughed, beyond ecstatic and strummed a quick succession of celebratory notes on Gina.

"Congratulations, man. You did it." Jasper patted his back, feeling extremely proud of Edward.

"We did it, Jasper. Don't discount your part in this."

"Well, I'm glad you brought that up. Let's talk about my raise now."

"Ok. Time for you to take a hike."

.

"Fuck Bernoulli!" she shouted, throwing the heavy textbook away with such force that it knocked over the monster alarm clock on her side table, before landing on the floor with a resounding thump.

Bella had been trying to drown herself in equations and mathematical analyses but her mind was clearly elsewhere.

_Somewhere in LA, perhaps. _

She'd always been good at repressing unwelcome thoughts. Burying them down below, where there's a trunkful of unpleasant memories that rattles from time to time. She was trying to put a deadbolt on all her muddled up feelings regarding a certain green-eyed musician but she wasn't having any success.

It's not that the kiss was in any way unwanted – far from it. She hadn't initiated it but she sure as hell had been a willing participant. It was her unexpectedly powerful reaction to the kiss and his subsequent words that freaked her out. She didn't mind a little excitement in her life but she preferred it to be within her control.

Bella was a self-aware person and always deliberately tried to be honest with herself. The kiss alone had made her feel out of sorts. The thought that anyone other than herself would have that kind of power over her made her feel vulnerable. She didn't know what to think about it so she tried using her avoidance techniques but it kept cropping up, annoying the fuck out of her.

Edward was a great guy. Friendly, funny and more than good-looking, but with parents like Carlisle and Esme, he didn't have a crappy gene in his body. Esme's coloring and Carlisle's features; you couldn't go wrong with that. He was also incredibly talented – his voice and his music were mesmerizing. It didn't hurt that he was a fantastic kisser.

Alright, so she was attracted to him. _A lot._ But her initial assessment about him had been right. He admitted to liking her and that implied a higher level of commitment than she felt she needed in her life.

She wasn't a fool. She realized that it isn't normal for someone not to crave a partner. A boyfriend. A love that lasts – at least a few years, if not forever. Essentially, a happily ever after. Who doesn't like the idea of a fairytale romance?

But she didn't _need_ it to live happily. She was happy. Very happy with where her life was going. She had a thriving business with a kickass partner. She loved her job. She was doing well at school and at the pace she was going, she was set to graduate in spring. Afterwards, she and Mac had plans to expand their business and it was exciting and thrilling. She never felt wistful or wished for someone to share this happiness with. She had Mac and Chris – her _family_. She was content with the way things were. She didn't want anyone coming into her life and changing that. She didn't want her life to revolve around someone, no matter how soft his hair was or how exceptional he was at kissing.

_Or how strong his shoulders were. Or how he made your insides quiver._ Her inner voice was definitely creepy. She shook off those weird thoughts and laid her head on the feathery pillow.

She knew that people thought she was hurt in the past and that is the reason why she was so guarded. Jake had asked her if there had been someone in her life when she'd refused his _generous_ offer. Don't people know how prevention is better than cure? She hadn't experienced heartache and she wanted it to remain that way.

Living in Hollywood, as she had her whole life, she had seen way too many phony people and fake relationships to believe in the warm and fuzzy, butterflies-in-your-stomach feelings. There were some who stuck it out but relationships, for the most part, are headed for doom before they even begin. Maybe she was cynical. No, there was no _maybe_ about it, but she liked to believe that she wasn't completely jaded.

She groaned as she realized what profound bullshit had been going through her mind since the moment Edward had pressed his soft lips against hers. Her throat dried up when she thought of the delicious sensations his hands over her body had elicited in her. The way his hands felt against her bare skin.

_This isn't helping_, she groaned as she pushed her head deeper into the pillow.

Overthinking is what she did. She only understood logic and liked to rationalize everything. Analyzing to the point of exhaustion before making any decision. Life is like an equation – there are variables, but there are constants, too. Edward was definitely a hard variable to place. Not that he hadn't made it clear what he wanted. She appreciated candidness above everything and the way he'd basically called her out on liking him, was as erotic as it was troubling. He saw through her – that was equal parts exciting and scary to her.

Not wanting to dwell on her crazy, out-of-control thoughts, she looked for the TV remote, hoping for some mindless chatter to drown out the ongoing babble inside her head. She patted her bed to search for it and when she got her hands on it, she simply turned it in the general direction of the TV and blindly pressed the ON button.

"First of all, congratulations on all the success Charles." She sat up at that, startled and completely unprepared for the sight that greeted her. Her father was sitting on a stool, beside a giant poster of his latest movie, she surmised. He looked a little weary, his hair was grayer than she remembered, his mustache, shaggier.

"It's a fantastic movie and it definitely deserves all the praise that it's been getting."

"Thank you." Charles smiled and his eyes crinkled at the sides.

"What attracted you to this project? I know you say that you always like stories that resonate with you on a personal level, so I was wondering what drew you to this."

"Yeah, as a director, you're always searching for a story that you _want_ to tell – one that you can relate to. It makes it that much easier to bring it to life, I believe. Serena Goldsmith writes brilliant dialog and while she's new to screenwriting, I think she's better than many old-timers I've worked with. I loved the idea, the heartbreak and the hope – two opposite poles, seamlessly integrated. It was moving."

"For those who don't know about it, just describe the plot in a nutshell."

"Well, _Little One_ is about a father who gets custody of his eight-year old daughter after her mother dies in a car crash while she was in the car. He'd had minimal interaction with the child prior to that. Now the girl has to deal with PTSD. She's difficult and hates him. He's clueless and hates his life." He smiles sadly, "It's about how he manages to understand her and how he gets through to her. It's about losing and healing and so much more than could be expressed in a nutshell."

"Did you draw something from your own parenting experience?"

"Definitely. Being a parent is very daunting. I can relate to being clueless and I can relate to his frustrations of not being able to communicate with his child. I- well, yeah- I mean-" Charles took a breath and then looked at the interviewer. "A good parent wants his child to be happy."

Charles was still speaking but Bella was no longer listening because she's seen him tug at something on his wrist. It was the thread bracelet she'd made him when she was seven. She swallowed thickly, hating the pinpricks in her eyes. She turned the TV off and threw the remote somewhere, rapidly blinking her eyes.

_Preferably out of the fucking window._

She took a few deep breaths to get her unruly breathing under control and laid her head back on the soft pillows.

Rationally, Bella knew Charles had done nothing that would justify her hatred. He slept around. Nothing new about that. Practically everyone does that, these days. And with a wife like Renee, she really couldn't blame him for straying. What she absolutely loathed was the fact that he never listened to her when she told him to cut her loose. She'd told him to let Renee go.

He loved how people idolized him. And he loved having a pretty thing at his side for award shows and other events. Renee obviously basked in the attention. Why couldn't he see that his life would be so much easier without her in it? She'd had a huge fight with him. She'd told him to essentially choose between her and Renee and he'd fucking stayed silent. He'd been so drunk that night, Bella was sure he didn't even remember what they fought about.

What cut her deep, though, was the fact that he'd never even tried to contact her. He knew where she was, of course. He never apologized. He was a fucking hypocrite, living a lie and she didn't want to be a part of that.

_So much for keeping those memories buried._

She got up suddenly, not wanting to be alone anymore. Quickly grabbing her riding jacket and keys, she slipped her cell phone into her cargo pants. Her footsteps were thunderous in the otherwise-silent house, as she practically ran down the stairs.

Chris had gone out with his boyfriend Mike – a cute blonde fashion designer, who dreamed of dressing Bella up in "_something pretty and lacy_".

She shuddered, _yeah, not gonna happen._

Mac still hadn't returned. She peeked outside and his car was right there in the garage. She looked at the key rack but Mac's keys were missing so she knew for a fact that he wasn't home. Warily, she stepped out to look around. The car was empty and so was the street. Her eyes traveled to Miss Rose's house. She decided to check in with her. Like always, she knocked once and let herself in.

"Miss Ro- OH SHIT!"

Mac was bent over Miss Rose on couch and his naked ass was, unfortunately, right there in Bella's face.

.

"Yes, ma. I will. I promise." Edward said into his iPhone.

"You know we're so proud of you."

"Thanks, ma." He smiled.

"But if you go without calling me for a week again, I swear you'll hear from me Edward Anthony."

Edward grimaced, "Sorry, ma. It won't happen again. I love you." Sitting beside him, Jasper snorted. Edward scowled at him.

"Oh, honey," she melted, "I love you, too."

"I'll talk to you later, ma."

"Hopefully not _too_ late," she jibed.

"Not too late," he agreed, "Say hi to dad for me."

"I will." He ended the call and resumed glaring at Jasper. "Why are you still here?"

"_Ouch_," Jasper said dramatically, "I'm wounded."

Edward just picked _Gina_ up and began playing the few notes of the song that he'd perfected by now.

"This is pretty fucking awesome, man."

"Thanks. I mean, I'm nowhere near finished with it but I think it's coming along nicely."

"Mhmm."

"I'm going to get back to it now." Edward bore his eyes to the side of Jasper's face, trying to subtly tell him to go away without actually saying it.

Jasper nodded as he laid his head on the couch, making himself comfortable without any invitation.

"Aside from all the is-he-going-out-with-Bella-Swan noise that I've had to deal with, there's been some interesting buzz in my ear?"

Edward winced at the casual mention of her, his mind conjuring up images of her just-kissed lips, rumpled hair and the confused depths of chocolate eyes. With an obnoxious amount of effort, he was able to push them away momentarily, to focus on the bizarre discussion going on.

"_Buzz_ _in your ear_? Jasper, would you quit being cryptic and just say what you came here to say."

"Charles Swan wants you."

Edward's stomach flipped at _Swan_ and he gulped loudly.

"Well, you know, I'm flattered but-"

"In his movie."

"Obviously. What else-" Edward shot him an incredulous look, "Never mind. But hell no."

"It's not an official thing yet, but I've got insider information that he's considering you for his next project because there's supposed to be a musician in it. Apparently you fit the bill."

Edward shook his head, "I don't want to be the reason for the downfall of his otherwise stellar career. Besides, he's only considering right? D'you know how many times I've considered firing your arse."

"Ha. Ha. As if you'd survive without me."

"I admit I'll be crushed, J, but I think I'll be able to piece my heart back together." Then he added slyly, "My new publicist will help me get over you."

"Fuck you." Jasper laughed as he pushed at Edward's shoulder, "Are you sure? Because if my source is right – and she usually is – I'll be getting that particular phone call soon enough."

"Do you really think I should do it?"

"I think you should sleep on it. Mull it over. I mean, you don't even know what the script says. Maybe you'll like it."

"Doesn't matter what the script says. I'm not cut out for that shit. I mean, music is my life, J. I breathe music and I know I'm good at it. I'd never dip my toes into something so unfamiliar, especially since it's going to be in front of a trillion people. I'm not going to willingly make a fool of myself."

"Yeah, but-"

"No, J. I want to be known for the fuckawesome music I create. At the risk of sounding horribly arrogant –"

"Which is definitely approaching the red zone."

Edward grinned, "I want to be applauded for the songs that I sing. I want people to appreciate my lyrics. I'm finally on the right track, J. Thanks to you, I'm doing what I love. I wouldn't trade that for anything."

"You know why I took you on when I first saw you play at that dingy bar?"

"Because you took pity on my sorry arse?"

Jasper smiled then, "You're passionate. Your music, your words - they exude this raw passion. The pure energy of it is rare and startling. And just plain beautiful."

"Oh, stop it, you. You're making me fall in love with you." Edward joked, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt, acting all shy. In truth, those words meant a lot to him.

Jasper snorted, "What can I say? I'm a heartthrob. Anyways, if I do get the call, I'll let him know that you aren't interested. I'm not sure how the media will take that. A rookie saying no to Hollywood royalty. That's gotta be a first."

"What happened to the all-publicity-is-good-publicity rule?"

"Ohho." Jasper exclaimed rather loudly, enthusiastically thumping Edward's back, "The caterpillar is finally learning the tricks. So proud."

Jasper made a show of wiping unshed tears and made a horrible crying face that cracked Edward up.

"Maybe you're the one who should be considering a career change."

"If only Charles Swan had offered _me_ a part."

They were both silent for a while afterwards, both lost in thought. Edward's mind going back to the mahogany-haired girl, and Jasper's to an ebony-haired one. All he could think about was the feel of her skin, the taste of her lips, the intermingling of their breaths and how devastated he'd be if he never got to experience that again.

"I called Alice last night." He whispered.

Edward's eyes widened. Jasper rarely mentioned Alice, if ever. It was a sour subject and Edward never pushed his friend, knowing how hurt he'd been when she'd left.

"I thought you called her every night."

"I do." He looked him in the eye then, "She picked up last night."

"Oh. Wow." Edward tried to think of something appropriate to say, "I mean, that's good, right?"

"She's ready to talk, Edward." His eyes had a frenzied light – dazed, elated and scared shitless at the same time. It reminded Edward of another set of eyes that he hadn't been able to keep out of his thoughts for more than a few minutes at a time.

"That's great, man." Edward put a hand on his shoulder, hoping to convey his silent support. Jasper nodded, acknowledging the gesture.

"I'm so fucking scared of saying the wrong thing. It's my last chance, Edward. My only chance." He said almost silently.

_At least you know you have a chance. _

"You'll be fine, J. That she's giving you a chance proves that she still loves you. She just needs to start trusting you again, man."

"I hope you're right." Jasper said softly.

Edward started playing a familiar tune and Jasper snorted when he recognized the song.

"Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be,

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be," Jasper belted out and they both laughed.

"Maybe you should leave the singing to me."

.

"Thanks, man." Jasper said quietly, as Edward followed him toward the door. He turned around and gripped his shoulders in a manly hug.

Edward patted his back, "Is this the part where I tell you I'm not interested?"

"Hah," Jasper released him and stumbled toward his ride in the dim streetlight.

Edward locked the door and activated the alarm, thinking about turning in for the night, wondering if Bella was already in bed. He yawned and began switching off lights the various lights in the house when he heard knocking.

"Jasper," He said to himself, rumpling his hair as he retraced his steps to the front door.

He was prepared to make a sarcastic comment about how Jasper was a little girl scared of shadows but he was completely floored by the vision that greeted him at his doorstep.

"Bella?"

.

**Thanks for reading, you guys! Reviews are fuel for my not-so-creative gears.**


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